JPL Scientists Confirm Jupiter Impact
By Kyle Khandikian
Published: Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
Infrared observations taken at the Keck II telescope in Hawaii reveal a bright spot where the impact occurred. Jupiter's Great Red Spot can be seen at the bottom of the image. Image: Paul Kalas/Michael Fitzgerald/Franck Marchis/UC Berkeley/SETI Institute.
Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech have confirmed that an asteroid has impacted Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, after a tip from an amateur astronomer on Monday.
Using NASA’s Infrared Telescope facility atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, JPL scientists were able to confirm that a large object bombarded Jupiter’s surface, leaving a large dark “scar.”
Amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley of Australia tipped scientists of the new impact site on the planet, which had scientists in frenzy Monday at JPL.
“We were extremely lucky to be seeing Jupiter at exactly the right time, the right hour, the right side of Jupiter to witness the event. We couldn’t have planned it better,” said Glenn Orton, JPL scientist.
The impact site appeared suddenly early Monday morning, between 3 and 9 a.m. PDT.
“It could be the impact of a comet, but we don’t know for sure yet. It’s been a whirlwind of a day, and this on the anniversary of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Apollo anniversaries is amazing.”
Orton is referring, of course, to the Apollo 11 moon landing 40th anniversary, which took place on Monday, July 20, 2009.
Shoemaker-Levy 9 is a comet which impacted Jupiter fifteen years ago this week, after breaking up into pieces while in orbit and crashing onto the planet between July 16 and July 22, 1994. It gave astronomers the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of objects in our solar system.
Both Caltech and NASA operate separate telescopes located at the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
By Kyle Khandikian
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