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Jupiter hit by a space rock; an amateur astronomer caught it on camera

Eighth recorded impact on Jupiter

The Earth has, in the past, been hit by asteroids which wiped out the dinosaurs. It has happened in the past and it will happen in the future. No one knows for sure when the next apocalyptic event will happen. However, the Earth is lucky to have a large planet like Jupiter in its vicinity which regularly pulls straying asteroids which would otherwise caused catastrophe on Earth.

According to Space.Com the Jovian planet has once again been hit by an asteroid. Amateur astronomer José Luis Pereira from Brazil captured the event on September 13th. He was aided by a software tool known as DeTeCt. The DeTeCt is a software tool used to check for planetary impact events. To the surprise of José the software revealed a high probability of a collision.

Astronomers are now checking the validity of the claims, and if correct, will become the eighth recorded impact on the Jovian planet. As many as 27 years ago, the world excitedly focused their telescopes on Jupiter when the comet Shoemaker Levy 9 slammed into the planet. The latest impact is said to have occurred in the latitude 5.5° and longitude 105.7° (System I / L1), 83.3° (System II / L2), and 273.4° (System III / L3).

Earlier also, such events were witnessed by astronomers. In 2019, astronomer Ethan Chappel from Texas was lucky to witness a meteor crash into Jupiter with his Celestron 8 telescope. Another French astronomer Sauveur Pedranghelu detected an impact on the planet’s polar region in 2017.

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Manoj Nair

Manoj is a passionate writer who loves writing on a variety of subjects including trivia, retro movies, unique and unkno More »
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