Fresh Jupiter impact may aid solar system census. New Scientist.
A bright flash spotted early yesterday in Jupiter's swirling atmosphere was most likely due to a hit by a comet or asteroid, astronomers say. Although the impact is the fourth one seen in just over three years, the uptick does not mean Jupiter is getting hit more often, only that more people are looking.
"Jupiter has been taking hits like this for a long time," says Franck Marchis of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. "It's just that now, amateur astronomers have the capabilities to detect them."
With the speed of digital communication, the army of enthusiasts scanning the skies can connect with professional astronomers to follow up on an observation almost instantly.
Seeing real-time impacts and studying the scars left on Jupiter will give scientists unique windows into the gas giant's atmospheric properties. The events can also tell astronomers more about the impacting objects themselves, giving a better picture of the sizes and numbers of bodies swarming through the solar system.
"This is a remarkable tool for us professional astronomers," Marchis says. "We cannot observe Jupiter continuously. But now when something like this happens, we can see it."
And:
The recent spate of impacts highlights Jupiter's role as cosmic street sweeper, clearing up debris that might otherwise hit Earth, says Glenn Orton of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
"Jupiter is a big gravitational vacuum cleaner," says Orton. "We qualitatively know that Jupiter's protecting the Earth. Without Jupiter we'd have a lot more impacts."
Thanks again, Jupiter, for being the Inner Solar System's goaltender. Judging by the size of that explosion, not only do we appreciate you, our very survival might depend on your very being. When you factor Jupiter's size to Earth, the big boom might have covered a significant majority of our planet. See for yourself:
A bright flash spotted early yesterday in Jupiter's swirling atmosphere was most likely due to a hit by a comet or asteroid, astronomers say. Although the impact is the fourth one seen in just over three years, the uptick does not mean Jupiter is getting hit more often, only that more people are looking.
"Jupiter has been taking hits like this for a long time," says Franck Marchis of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. "It's just that now, amateur astronomers have the capabilities to detect them."
With the speed of digital communication, the army of enthusiasts scanning the skies can connect with professional astronomers to follow up on an observation almost instantly.
Seeing real-time impacts and studying the scars left on Jupiter will give scientists unique windows into the gas giant's atmospheric properties. The events can also tell astronomers more about the impacting objects themselves, giving a better picture of the sizes and numbers of bodies swarming through the solar system.
"This is a remarkable tool for us professional astronomers," Marchis says. "We cannot observe Jupiter continuously. But now when something like this happens, we can see it."
And:
The recent spate of impacts highlights Jupiter's role as cosmic street sweeper, clearing up debris that might otherwise hit Earth, says Glenn Orton of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
"Jupiter is a big gravitational vacuum cleaner," says Orton. "We qualitatively know that Jupiter's protecting the Earth. Without Jupiter we'd have a lot more impacts."
Thanks again, Jupiter, for being the Inner Solar System's goaltender. Judging by the size of that explosion, not only do we appreciate you, our very survival might depend on your very being. When you factor Jupiter's size to Earth, the big boom might have covered a significant majority of our planet. See for yourself:
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