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Amateur astronomers spot new impact on Jupiter

space.com

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Re: Amateur astronomers spot new impact on Jupiter

#11

Post by dylan604 »

thetomcraig wrote: post #10

It’s amazing that amateur folks can provide this much insight these days. I worked at JPL 10 years ago and setup a pipeline for amateur Jupiter astronomers to get their images to JPL/NASA. Basically JPL figured out that these people were consistently producing such high quality data, that NASA could take advantage of it for the Juno mission. Glad to see this in the news :).

It makes sense seeing that NASA/JPL only have so many instruments pointing at Jupiter at any time. That number is dwarfed by the number of amateurs looking at it on any night. It also helps that it's one of the easiest things to view.

Re: Amateur astronomers spot new impact on Jupiter

#13

Post by JacobAldridge »

I was only 12 when Shoemaker-Levy banged into Jupiter in 1994, so wiser minds or those with better memories may correct me.

At the time, the leading theory for what killed the dinosaurs was still quite terrestrial - volcanos and climate change.

There was increasing evidence for the meteorite impact theory, but a big block was “Space is big, outside the early formation of the Solar System comets and asteroids don’t just slam into planets”.

Then comet Shoemaker-Levy showed us that they actually do, perhaps still quite frequently, with Jupiter playing an imperfect shield for Earth. It was one of the last roadblocks to the now-widely accepted impact theory (still not ‘solved’ of course, and perhaps only part of the extinction puzzle).

Dinosaurs were back in the zeitgeist thanks to Jurassic Park (1993), but Shoemaker-Levy and the impact theory gave us the 1998 twin movies Armageddon and (the better of the two, imho) Deep Impact.

Re: Amateur astronomers spot new impact on Jupiter

#14

Post by dylan604 »

JacobAldridge wrote: post #13

I was only 12 when Shoemaker-Levy banged into Jupiter in 1994, so wiser minds or those with better memories may correct me. At the time, the leading theory for what killed the dinosaurs was still quite terrestrial - volcanos and climate change. There was increasing evidence for the meteorite impact theory, but a big block was “Space is big, outside the early formation of the Solar System comets and asteroids don’t ju…

Was that really the leading theory you were taught? If you were 12, I'm the cause.

There's been a few "big one" theories I've heard about. The impending California earthquake is a popular one, but I'm familiar with super volcanoes and asteroids too from childhood.

Re: Amateur astronomers spot new impact on Jupiter

#15

Post by jebarker »

dylan604 wrote: post #5
trilbyglens wrote: post #4

This is totally going to be my old man hobby.

It's sad it has to be this way. I have a telescope with a smaller telescope for tracking. I have the motorized equatorial mount. I have the gear to connect the mount and smaller scope with a camera to my laptop. I have the software to control them for precise tracking. I have the camera to attach to the main telescope. I have the stacking software. I don't have the luck of being free when the seeing is great, and hav…

A good place to consider for your property purchase is the area around Crestone, CO. It was recently designated a Dark Sky Sanctuary. It's near some great hiking, Sand Dunes National Park and good skiing. Also, it has the only legal funeral pyre in the USA. [1]

As for the remote sites in New Mexico, I've looked into renting telescope time or remotely locating my astrophotography gear but I just feel like I'd be losing something from the hobby if it didn't require me to be hands on with the gear and outside.

[1] https://crestoneendoflifeproject.org/services/open-air-crema...

Re: Amateur astronomers spot new impact on Jupiter

#16

Post by jebarker »

It seems fairly frequent that amateurs observe large impacts on Jupiter. Presumably they would be devastating impacts if they hit Earth. Is the reason we don't get them frequently on Earth because of the size difference (11X smaller than Jupiter) or we're somehow protected by location?

Re: Amateur astronomers spot new impact on Jupiter

#17

Post by Waterluvian »

jebarker wrote: post #16

It seems fairly frequent that amateurs observe large impacts on Jupiter. Presumably they would be devastating impacts if they hit Earth. Is the reason we don't get them frequently on Earth because of the size difference (11X smaller than Jupiter) or we're somehow protected by location?

The answer is in the sub-headline: “This gas giant regularly absorbs hits from comets and asteroids, protecting inner solar system worlds.”

It’s a really cool concept, though it’s not settled science: https://earthsky.org/space/is-it-true-that-jupiter-protects-...

It’s interesting to consider that a Kepler planet may also require larger mass planets further out to perform a similar role.

Re: Amateur astronomers spot new impact on Jupiter

#18

Post by scns »

JacobAldridge wrote: post #13

I was only 12 when Shoemaker-Levy banged into Jupiter in 1994, so wiser minds or those with better memories may correct me. At the time, the leading theory for what killed the dinosaurs was still quite terrestrial - volcanos and climate change. There was increasing evidence for the meteorite impact theory, but a big block was “Space is big, outside the early formation of the Solar System comets and asteroids don’t ju…

Scary Stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zNuT4dbdjU

Big thank You to Jupiter for swallowing explosions roughly half the size of earth (hyperbole maybe?) and stay fine while doing so

Re: Amateur astronomers spot new impact on Jupiter

#19

Post by davesque »

dylan604 wrote: post #14
JacobAldridge wrote: post #13

I was only 12 when Shoemaker-Levy banged into Jupiter in 1994, so wiser minds or those with better memories may correct me. At the time, the leading theory for what killed the dinosaurs was still quite terrestrial - volcanos and climate change. There was increasing evidence for the meteorite impact theory, but a big block was “Space is big, outside the early formation of the Solar System comets and asteroids don’t ju…

Was that really the leading theory you were taught? If you were 12, I'm the cause. There's been a few "big one" theories I've heard about. The impending California earthquake is a popular one, but I'm familiar with super volcanoes and asteroids too from childhood.

Yeah, I remember the same. I was 13 in 1994 and I remember the impact theory being taught as the cause well before the Shoemaker-Levy impact.

Re: Amateur astronomers spot new impact on Jupiter

#20

Post by sillysaurusx »

jebarker wrote: post #16

It seems fairly frequent that amateurs observe large impacts on Jupiter. Presumably they would be devastating impacts if they hit Earth. Is the reason we don't get them frequently on Earth because of the size difference (11X smaller than Jupiter) or we're somehow protected by location?

I once heard that Jupiter protects us because it’s so massive that it catches rocks that would otherwise come towards us. No idea if that’s true, but it makes for a nice story about the silent gassy protector.
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