Impact scar spotted on Jupiter atmosphere
Posted: Wed, Jul 22, 2009, 2:32 PM ET (1832 GMT)
Exactly fifteen years after Jupiter was pummeled by a series of impact by comet fragments, another object apparently struck the planet and left behind a mark the size of the Earth. A dark "scar" was first spotted Sunday by an Australian amateur astronomer and later confirmed by other observatories, including NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii. What caused the appearance of the dark spot, located in the southern polar regions of Jupiter's atmosphere, isn't clear, but the spot resembles those created when fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 struck Jupiter in July 1994.
Exactly fifteen years after Jupiter was pummeled by a series of impact by comet fragments, another object apparently struck the planet and left behind a mark the size of the Earth. A dark "scar" was first spotted Sunday by an Australian amateur astronomer and later confirmed by other observatories, including NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii. What caused the appearance of the dark spot, located in the southern polar regions of Jupiter's atmosphere, isn't clear, but the spot resembles those created when fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 struck Jupiter in July 1994.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, August 25
Beyond Reach Labs unveils line of large deployable solar arrays
Space News — 6:03 am ET (1003 GMT) Star Catcher signs power-beaming deal with Aethero
Space News — 6:03 am ET (1003 GMT) Kepler starts commercial optical data relay service
Space News — 6:02 am ET (1002 GMT) Constellr picks Space Inventor to expand thermal imaging constellation
Space News — 6:02 am ET (1002 GMT) Startups look to add electronic-threat detection to maneuverable spacecraft
Space News — 6:02 am ET (1002 GMT) |
