Jupiter Struck By Meteor

June 7th, 2010 - 6:53 pm ICT by Pen Men At Work  

Jupiter June 7, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): The first ever video footage of a meteor strike on Jupiter has been captured by two amateur astronomers. The strike happened on 3rd of June and was spotted by Anthony Wesley from Australia and amateur astronomer Christopher Go in the Philippines. The footage that shows the impact of a crash on the huge planet is capable enough of wiping off all forms of life on earth.

Wesley caught still images of the collision taken from Broken Hill, Australia in the early morning hours. He posted these photos on his website that show the Jupiter fireball radiating in the atmosphere of the planet. He said that he couldn’t believe it when he saw the flash which lasted for about two seconds and was very bright.

Christopher Go, working from Philippines, said that there were no visible remains at the impact point for the next half hour till sunrise stopped it. He said that he still can’t believe having caught a live impact of meteor strike on Jupiter.

The comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke into more than 20 pieces and bombarded Jupiter repeatedly in 1994. Astronomers back then said that such impacts could occur on Jupiter every 50 to 250 years but the latest meteor attack on the giant planet is happening for the second time within a year. A scar of the size of the Pacific Ocean on the south pole of the planet, in 2009 was being linked to similar impact. Astronomers who believed that such events happen once in hundred years are re-examining their theory.

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