Being the largest planet in the solar system is a chore. This fall, Jupiter was beaten. On the 15th, Japanese astronomical observers saw a flash of light in Jupiter's northern hemisphere atmosphere, most likely emitted by an asteroid hitting Jupiter. A month ago, an observer in Brazil saw a similar phenomenon.
A Twitter user who captured the flash with the Star-Terang C6 telescope told Space News: "I feel like this flash has been lit up for a long time. ”
A team led by astronomer Aritsumatsu of Kyoto University in Japan confirmed the observation. Aritsuki is involved in a project called "Automated Rangefinder Organization for Accident Investigation". According to a tweet released by the project, the observed phenomenon contains two different kinds of light, i.e., visible light and infrared light, which make Jupiter emit an eerie pink light.
Due to its large mass and strong gravitational pull, Jupiter often encounters such impacts. Smaller objects, such as asteroids scattered throughout the solar system, can easily be sucked into Jupiter's thick, extremely unstable atmosphere. Some studies have shown that on average, objects larger than 45 meters in diameter hit Jupiter once every few months. However, limitations in human observation capabilities mean that even the most complete observation projects may only observe one impact per year.
Observers are uncertain whether the impact will leave a distribution of debris that scientists can observe, and the September flash failed to. Several factors, including the size and location of the impactor, can affect the observability of the impact event.
Source Beijing Evening News According to Xinhua News Agency
Process Editor Yan Shengmiao