Lick
Observatory, Mt.Hamilton, California
W.
M. Keck Observatory,
Hawaii
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Lick
Observatory, Mt.Hamilton, California
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W.
M. Keck Observatory,
Hawaii
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HST, Keck, and Gemini Observations of the 2009 Impact on Jupiter
We observed the aftermath of the July 2009 impact on Jupiter with HST, Keck, Gemini North and South, and the VLT in July-November 2009. Many papers have been published explaining the event.
On 19 July 2009 amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley noticed a dark spot near Jupiter's south pole, which he attributed to an impact on the planet. These NASA Hubble Space Telescope snapshots reveal the impact scar on Jupiter on 23 July 2009, just 4 days after its discovery. Images taken over a period of months show the dispersal of the debris by winds, thereby slowly fading from view. Based on a comparison of all data, astronomers suggest the intruder may have been a rogue asteroid about 500 meters in diameter. The images of the 2009 impact, therefore, may show for the first time the immediate aftermath of an asteroid striking another planet. See HST website
(a) HST image of the southern part of Jupiter's atmosphere, taken 23 July 2009. The inset shows an enhancement of the impact site, with labels to various regions. (b) Jupiter's southern hemisphere as imaged with the mid-IR camera Michelle on the Gemini-North telescope on 22 July. The image was constructed from two images: one at 8.8 micron (blue) and one at 9.7 micron (yellow). (From: Imke de Pater, Leigh N. Fletcher, Santiago Pérez-Hoyos, Heidi B. Hammel, Glenn S. Orton, Michael H. Wong, Statia Luszcz-Cook, Agustin Sánchez-Lavega, Mark Boslough, 2010. A Multi-Wavelength Study of the 2009 Impact on Jupiter: Comparison of High Resolution Images from Gemini, Keck and HST. Icarus, 210, 722-741.)
Images at two different wavelengths taken on 24 July 2009 with NIRC2 coupled to the AO system on the Keck telescope. The impact site is on the limb. (From: Imke de Pater, Leigh N. Fletcher, Santiago Pérez-Hoyos, Heidi B. Hammel, Glenn S. Orton, Michael H. Wong, Statia Luszcz-Cook, Agustin Sánchez-Lavega, Mark Boslough, 2010. A Multi-Wavelength Study of the 2009 Impact on Jupiter: Comparison of High Resolution Images from Gemini, Keck and HST. Icarus, 210, 722-741.)
