Other
Scientific paper
Jul 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008hst..prop12119s&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #12119. Cycle 17
Other
Scientific paper
On 3 June 2010, amateur astronomers A. Wesley and C. Go independently captured observations of an impact on Jupiter: the bright flash of an impact itself, not the dark aftermath as seen in 2009. This event was completely unexpected given the recent impact in 2009, and contradicts recently revised predictions of jovian impact rates. Three circumstances make this 2009 event unique: first, the event was captured on video; second, it was on the jovian day-side and hence fully visible from Earth; and third, it was at low latitude {i.e., favorably placed on the planet}. These factors will permit a lightcurve to be extracted, which is critical for determining the energy of the explosion and hence the size of the impacting body {not available for the 2009 event and available for only a few 1994 events by Galileo}. As of this writing, no dark impact site has been detected with telescopes of any aperture, including the Gemini North telescope. Hubble may be the only facility with high enough spatial resolution to detect the 2010 impact site. If Hubble images show a site, then the body's trajectory might be obtainable. If no site is detected, then Hubble will confirm that this is the first observation of a meteor on another atmosphere-bearing planet. If an event of this size occurred on Earth, it would be likely be termed a Type 1 Low-Altitude Airburst, like Tunguska or larger. Thus, this new event could become the best-observed analogue of a terrestrial airburst of the size that dominates the impact threat to humans. The observations we propose should provide independent constraints on penetration depth and atmospheric effects. This data will strongly inform our understanding of terrestrial airbursts and allow better quantification of the associated threat. We request a single orbit to image the impact latitude on the planet's central meridian. Of critical importance are Hubble's unique UV sensitivity {critical for assessing aspects of the 2009 impact, and not obtainable from any ground-based facility} and Hubble's high spatial resolution {also not obtainable in the visible form any ground-based telescope}.;
No associations
LandOfFree
Rapid Response: Unexpected Jupiter Impact does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Rapid Response: Unexpected Jupiter Impact, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Rapid Response: Unexpected Jupiter Impact will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1321058