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JPL confirms that object has bombarded Jupiter
The first story in our yesterday's Minuscule was about a recent comet or asteroid impact on Jupiter. Some photos showing the impact were posted by the Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley in his blog. Following Wesley's finding scientists at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California using NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, gathered evidence indicating an impact.
Images show the likely impact point was near the south polar region, with a visibly dark 'scar' and bright up-welling particles in the upper atmosphere detected in near-infrared wavelengths, and a warming of the upper troposphere with possible extra emission from ammonia gas detected at mid-infrared wavelengths.
Glenn Orton, a JPL scientist said: '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. 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 [exactly 15 years ago] and Apollo anniversaries is amazing.'
Orton and his team kicked into gear early in the morning and haven't stopped tracking the planet. They are downloading data now and are working to get additional observing time on this and other telescopes.
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