Detailed observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope have found an answer to the flash of light seen June 3 on Jupiter. It came from a giant meteor burning up high above Jupiter's cloud tops. The space visitor did not plunge deep enough into the atmosphere to explode and leave behind any telltale cloud of debris, as seen in previous Jupiter collisions.
Hubble's sharp vision and ultraviolet sensitivity were brought to bear on seeking out any trace evidence of the aftermath of the cosmic collision (right inset). Images taken on June 7 show no sign of dark debris above Jupiter's cloud tops. This means that the object didn't descend beneath the clouds and explode as a fireball. If it had, dark sooty blast debris would have been ejected and subsequently would have settled down onto the cloud tops.
Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley saw the flash at 4:31 p.m. (EDT) on June 3. He was watching a live video feed of Jupiter from his telescope. In the Philippines, amateur astronomer Chris Go confirmed that he had simultaneously recorded the transitory event on video.
This natural color photo was taken in visible light with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3.
Credits
NASA, ESA, M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), H.B. Hammel (Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.), A.A. Simon-Miller (Goddard Space Flight Center), and the Jupiter Impact Science Team| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Jupiter |
| Object Description | Planet |
| Distance | The semi-major axis of Jupiter's orbit about the Sun is 5.2 astronomical units (483 million miles or 778 million km). On June 7, 2010 Jupiter was 475 million miles from Earth. |
| Dimensions | The planet has a diameter of roughly 88,789 miles (142,984 km) at the equator. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The image was created from Hubble data from proposal : A. Simon-Miller (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), H. Hammel (Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), L. Fletcher (University of Oxford), G. Orton (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), M. Wong (University of California, Berkley), A. Sanchez-Lavega (University of the Basque Country, Spain), J. Clarke (Boston University), and K. Noll (STScI). Note: The comparison data from HST WFC3 observations taken in 2009 are from proposals and : H. Hammel (Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.), A. Simon-Miller (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), J. Clarke (Boston University), I. de Pater (University of California, Berkeley), K. Noll (STScI), G. Orton (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), A. Sanchez-Lavega (University of the Basque Country, Spain), and M. Wong (University of California, Berkley). |
| Instrument | HST>WFC3/UVIS |
| Exposure Dates | July 23, 2009 and June 7, 2010 |
| Filters | F395N (395 nm), F502N (502 nm), and F631N (631 nm) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | The image is a composite of separate exposures made by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Three filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F395N (395 nm) Green: F502N (502 nm) Red: F631N (631 nm) |
| Compass Image |  |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
