Astronomers Unveil Details Of Mysterious Space Rock That Hit Jupiter

Astronomers have finally uncovered details of the mysterious space rock that hit Jupiter in August. According to the astronomers, the planet was hit by an asteroid that detonated mid-air.

On Aug. 7, amateur astronomer Ethan Chappel was able to photograph a stunning moment when a space rock slammed into Jupiter. The impact event created a huge flash that was seen from Earth with the help of special equipment.

Chappel was able to analyze the flash caused by the explosion using an open-source software known as DeTect, which is a helpful tool used by amateur astronomers to observe and analyze similar cosmic events.

The image caught the attention of astronomers as it was regarded as a rare event. Although it is common for Jupiter to get pelted by asteroids and comets, it is rare to see one happening from Earth.

Recently, astronomers from the Florida Institute of Technology as well as the University of the Basque Country identified the impactor an asteroid and not a comet as previously believed. According to the astronomers, the asteroid that hit the alien planet was about 39 to 52 feet.

Since the asteroid was relatively small, it didn’t reach Jupiter’s surface. Instead, it exploded and broke apart about 50 miles above the planet’s clouds. The astronomers noted that the resulting explosion produced energy that’s equivalent to 240 kilotons of TNT. It was about half as powerful as the energy released by the meteor that exploded over Russia in 2013.

Researcher Ricardo Hueso, who also analyzed the asteroid’s data said that due to Jupiter’s massive size, it has an impact rate larger than that of Earth.

“Most of these objects hit Jupiter without being spotted by observers on Earth,” he said in a statement. “However, we now estimate 20 to 60 similar objects impact with Jupiter each year.”

“Because of Jupiter’s large size and gravitational field, this impact rate is 10,000 times larger than the impact rate of similar objects on Earth,” he added.

According to French astronomer Marc Delcroix, the recent event on Jupiter has encouraged other amateur astronomers to carry out their own cosmic observations and studies.

“The amateur community has been galvanized by this event, and the number of observers and volume of data being processed is increasing rapidly,” he said.