What Whacked Jupiter on 2010 June 3rd? A Giant MeteorHubble images confirm hypothesis; planet’s faded cloud belt also explained
By Denise Chow  Updated 2:33
p.m. ET June 16, 2010 The mystery fireball that
smacked into Jupiter on June 3 has been identified as a giant meteor
that plunged into the planet's atmosphere and burned up high above its
cloud tops, according to new observations from the Hubble Space
Telescope The cosmic intruder did not dive deep enough into Jupiter's atmosphere to explode, which scientists said explains the lack of any telltale cloud of debris, as was seen in previous Jupiter collisions. Hubble astronomers described the meteor's size as "giant" in a Wednesday announcement. "We
suspected for this 2010 impact there might be no big explosion driving a
giant plume, and hence no resulting debris field to be imaged," Heidi
Hammel, a veteran Jupiter observer at the Space Science
Institute The meteor was huge, but not as large as the object that struck Jupiter in July 2009, or the shattered comet fragments that hit the gas giant planet in 1994, researchers said. [Gallery: Jupiter's 2009 crash.] The new Hubble observations also allowed scientists to get a close-up look at changes in Jupiter's atmosphere, following the seeming disappearance of the dark Southern Equatorial Belt, or SEB, several months ago. In the latest Hubble view, a slightly higher altitude layer of white ammonia ice crystal clouds appears to obscure the deeper, darker belt clouds. "Weather forecast for Jupiter's South Equatorial Belt: cloudy with a chance of ammonia," Hammel said. The researchers predict that these ammonia clouds will likely clear out in a few months, as it has typically done in the past. Jupiter gets
whacked (again) It was Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley who first saw the flash at 4:31 p.m. ET on June 3, while watching a live video feed of Jupiter from his telescope. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, amateur astronomer Chris Go confirmed the discovery from his own simultaneous video recording of the transitory event.
The Hubble Space Telescope's sharp vision and ultraviolet sensitivity was called into action to seek out any traces of the aftermath of the cosmic collision. Images taken on June 7 — a little over three days after the flash was discovered — showed no sign of debris above Jupiter's cloud tops. That suggests the object did not descend beneath the clouds and explode as a fireball, astronomers said. "If it did, dark sooty blast debris would have been ejected and would have rained down onto the cloud tops, and the impact site would have appeared dark in the ultraviolet and visible images due to debris from an explosion," Hammel explained. "We see no feature that has those distinguishing characteristics in the known vicinity of the impact, suggesting there was no major explosion and fireball." Jupiter
impacts of times past This latest cosmic interloper is estimated to be only a fraction of the size of these previous impactors. The two-second-long flash of light in the videos was created by the same physics that causes a meteor or "shooting star" on Earth. A shock wave is generated by ram pressure as the meteor speeds into the planet's atmosphere, heating the impacting body to a very high temperature. As the hot object streaks through the atmosphere, it leaves behind a glowing trail of superheated atmospheric gases and vaporized meteor material that then rapidly cools and fades in the span of only a few seconds. Though astronomers are still uncertain about the rate of such large meteoroid impacts on the planets in our solar system, it is estimated that the smallest detectable events may happen as frequently as every few weeks. "It's difficult to even
know what the current impact rates are throughout the solar system,"
said Amy Simon-Miller of NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center Even when impacts are detected, they can sometimes be misread. "The meteor flashes are so brief they are easily missed, even in video recordings, or perhaps misidentified as detector noise or cosmic ray hits on imaging devices," said research team member Mike Wong of the University of California at Berkeley.
Case of the
missing cloud belt Click for related
content The clearing of the ammonia cloud layer should begin with a number of dark spots like those seen by Hubble along the boundary of the south tropical zone. "The Hubble images tell us these spots are holes resulting from localized downdrafts taking place," Simon-Miller said. "We often see these types of holes when a change is about to occur." "The SEB last faded in the early 1970s," Simon-Miller added. "We haven't been able to study this at this level of detail before. The changes of the last few years are adding to an extraordinary database on dramatic cloud changes on Jupiter." © 2010
Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Old Moon Rover Beams Surprising Laser Flashes to Earth
"We shined a laser on Lunokhod 1's position, and we were stunned by the power of the reflection," says Tom Murphy of UC San Diego, who leads the research team that's putting the old robot back to work. "Lunokhod 1 is talking to us loudly and clearly." 
It looks like a creature from science fiction, but Lunokhod 1 is
real. Photo Credit: Lavochkin Association. [more]
Almost forgotten in the lore of the Apollo-era space race, Lunokhod 1 was one of the greatest successes of the old Soviet lunar exploration program. In 1970, Time magazine described the robot's historic landing:
An LRO photo of the Luna 17 lander. Note the Lunokhod 1 tracks
circling the lander. [more]
The remote-controlled rover traveled almost 7 miles during its 11 month lunar tour, relaying thousands of TV images and hundreds of high-resolution panoramas of the Moon back to Earth. It also sampled and analyzed lunar soil at 500 locations. Then Lunokhod-1 was lost – until last month when NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter found it again. The recovery is described in an earlier NASA press release. On April 22, Murphy and his team sent pulses of laser light from the 3.5 meter telescope at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, zeroing in on the target coordinates provided by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. A laser retroreflector on Lunokhod 1 intercepted the pulses and sent a clear signal back to Earth. "We got about 2,000 photons from Lunokhod 1 on our first try. After almost 40 years of silence, this rover a lot to say," notes Murphy. Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Apollo astronauts placed three other retroflectors on the Moon to allow laser ranging of the Moon's orbit. Assisted by a fourth reflector on Lunokhod 2, a twin of Lunokhod 1 that landed in 1973, these mirrors constitute the only Apollo science experiment still operating. 
Lunar Laser Ranging from the McDonald Observatory. [more]
Eric Silverberg, now retired from the University of Texas, was in charge of the lunar laser ranging activities at the McDonald Observatory from 1969 until 1982. "During that time," he recalls, "we successfully ranged all three of the Apollo corner reflectors and the Lunakhod 2 reflector. We also tried to range on the first lunar rover but had only one possible (but not definite) detection on Dec 31, 1970. Our lack of knowledge of the location of the rover and the pressures of keeping up with the Apollo program caused us eventually to lose interest in Lunakhod 1." "When I read that Tom Murphy had discovered returns from the lost rover I was very surprised and elated," says Silverberg. Murphy's initial reaction was disbelief: "The signal was so strong, my first thought was that our detector was acting up! I expected the rover's reflector to be degraded and dull after all this time, so I thought, 'this couldn't possibly be it.' But it was." "This reflector is even strong enough to let us get measurements in lunar daylight – a first for this experiment!" Silverberg continues: "The fact that Lunokhod 1's reflection is now stronger than that of its twin is a mystery. This may yield important clues as to why all of the reflectors are weaker than in the first decade after landing." With Lunokhod 1 back in the fold, the laser ranging study can get up to full throttle for the first time. The scientists are using laser ranging to push hard on Einstein's gravity theory "to see if we can break it," says Murphy. 
Corner-cube prisms return any incident light back in exactly the
direction from which it came. [more]
"Our telescope shoots out laser pulses that travel from Earth to the Moon and ping the reflectors. Because these are all 'corner-cube reflectors,' they send the pulse straight back where it came from. We scoop up as many of the returning photons as possible." The round-trip travel time pinpoints the Earth-Moon distance. With repeated measurements, over months and years, the scientists can trace the Moon's orbit with millimeter precision. Einstein's theory of gravity (the Theory of General Relativity) holds that the mass and energy in massive objects like the sun make space curve, and this curving tells objects around the massive body how to move. The curvature actually makes the Earth and Moon fall toward the sun. By measuring the Moon's fall through curved spacetime, the Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation--APOLLO for short--may yet find a crack in Einstein's great edifice of General Relativity. That's how science moves forward. So far, lunar ranging results support Einstein. But a funny looking old rover may shine, or at least reflect, new light on the subject.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- May 21, 2010 Updated AKATSUKI successfully launched!!The H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 17 (H-IIA F17) with the Venus Climate Orbiter "AKATSUKI" onboard was launched at 6:58:22 a.m. on May 21 (Japan Standard Time) from the Tanegashima Space Center. The H-IIA F17 flew smoothly, and, at 27 minutes and 29 seconds after liftoff, the AKATSUKI was separated from the H-IIA.We will update you with the latest information on the AKATSUKI on the Special Site. > AKATSUKI Special Site (Photo: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Space Shuttle Mission: STS-132May 18th, 2010 Space Station Gets a New Science Module Screenshot from NASA TV of the new Rassvet module attached to the space station. Credt: NASA TV A 8,550 kg (17,760-pound) Russian Mini-Research Module, known as Rassvet or "Dawn," was attached to the International Space Station today. This is the first (and last) Russian-built module to be delivered by a space shuttle, and the 8 meter long (20 ft) 2.5 meter (8 ft) diamater module will serve an area for scientific research  ,
as well as for stowage and a docking port extension for future visiting
spacecraft such as the Soyuz and Progress resupply vehicles."The ISS
has grown by one more module," Moscow mission control  Image Above: Liftoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis on its STS-132 mission. Launch was on time at 2:20 PM May 14th EDT. Image credit: NASA STS-132 Overview Space shuttle Atlantis is embarking on its final planned mission. During the 12-day flight, Atlantis and six astronauts will fly to the International Space Station, leaving behind a Russian Mini Research Module, a set of batteries for the station's truss and dish antenna, along with other replacement parts. Atlantis' 32nd flight is scheduled to last 12 days and include three spacewalks and extensive robotics work. NASA astronaut Ken Ham commands an all-veteran flight crew: Pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Michael Good, Garrett Reisman, Piers Sellers and Steve Bowen. Additional Resources › STS-132 Mission Summary (710 Kb PDF) › STS-132 Press Kit (9.8 Mb PDF) Orbiter Status › About the Orbiters ------------------------------------------------------------------------ April 22nd, 2010 Gallery: Atlantis Rolls Towards Last Launch Atlantis during a midnight rollout towards its scheduled last flight. Credit: Alan Walters (awaltersphoto.com) for Universe Today. What a
beautiful shot! Universe Today
photographer Alan
Walters had the
opportunity to be inside the Vehicle Assembly Building early on
April 22nd (12 am EDT) as Space Shuttle Atlantis
began her slow crawl to launchpad 39A, in what is scheduled to be her
last flight. Discovery's Crew Back on EarthTue, 20 Apr 2010 10:36:37 AM ESTAfter
physicals aboard the crew transport vehicle, space shuttle Discovery's
seven astronauts took a walk around the spacecraft that carried them
more than 6 million miles. They each paused to express their thoughts
about the mission and their gratitude to those on the ground who helped
make the mission safe and successful. Space Shuttle Mission: STS-131 Image above: Space shuttle Discovery lands at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Tuesday, April 20, 2010. Discovery and the STS-131 mission crew, Commander Alan Poindexter, Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. and Mission Specialists Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Rick Mastracchio, Stephanie Wilson, Clayton Anderson and Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki returned from their mission to the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls › View larger image Discovery Lands in Florida With Commander Alan G. Poindexter and Pilot James P. Dutton Jr. at the controls, space shuttle Discovery descended to a smooth landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The STS-131 crew members concluded their successful mission to the International Space Station when the shuttle touched down at 9:08 a.m. EDT. Discovery arrived at the station April 7, delivering more than seven tons of equipment and supplies. During the 10-day stay, Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio and Clayton Anderson conducted three spacewalks to install a 1,700-pound ammonia tank assembly on the station’s exterior to replace a depleted predecessor. They also replaced a rate gyro assembly, retrieved a Japanese experiment and two debris shields. Additional Resources › STS-131 Press Kit (7.9 Mb PDF) › STS-131 Mission Summary (890 Kb PDF) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLCANIC LIGHTNING: It is well known that volcanic eruptions produce strong lightning. Less well known is why? Ordinary lightning in thunderstorms is not fully understood; volcanic lightning is even more of a mystery. To investigate, a team of researchers from New Mexico Tech has traveled to Iceland to monitor the Eyjafjallajokull volcano--and they have found it crackling with electricity:
"On the evening of April 16th, there were some small eruptions producing ash clouds up to about 6-7 km, with lightning," says photographer Harald Edens. "The sky was nice and clear, so I was able to photograph the bolts from the town of Hvolsvollur using my Nikon D700 and a 80-200/2.8 lens." Photography is one way to monitor volcanic lightning, but the technique has limits: Ash clouds are able to hide the flashes; lightning is not always visible in daylight; glowing lava competes for attention; and so on. Radio receivers can do a better job. Lightning emits impulsive radio bursts which can be measured and counted, day or night, even through clouds of ash. "We are deploying a six-station lightning mapping array around the Eyjafjallajokull volcano," says Edens. Their analysis of the radio "crackles" could reveal much about the inner workings of volcanic lightning. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY WAS DOCKED TO THE SPACE STATION Space shuttle Discovery seems to hang from the International Space Station in this photo taken from aboard the orbiting laboratory complex. The station's robotic Canadarm2 grapples the Leonardo multi-purpose logistics module from the payload bay of Discovery for relocation to a port on the Harmony node of the International Space Station. April 7, 2010 Photo credit: NASA  STS-131 Mission Extended to Facilitate Late Inspection
Friday 2010 April 9th at 10:23:37
PM ESTMission Control informed space shuttle
Discovery
Commander Alan Poindexter that mission managers are extending the
flight by one day to enable a standard late inspection of the shuttle
heat shield to occur while the shuttle is docked to the International
Space Station. New Images of Phobos from Mars Express Flyby
Phobos, as seen by Mars Express on March 7, 2010. Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum) ESA
released new images of Mars' moon Phobos, taken during the Mars Express March 7,
2010 flyby, showing the rocky moon in exquisite
detail and also in 3-D. Mars Express orbits the Red Planet in a
highly elliptical, polar orbit that brings it close to Phobos every five months, and it is the only spacecraft currently in orbit around Mars whose orbit reaches far enough from the planet to provide a close-up view of Phobos. Like our Moon, Phobos always shows the same side to the planet, so only by flying outside the orbit is it possible to observe the moon's far side. Mars Express did such flybys on March 7, 10 and 13. Get out your 3-D glasses for a great look at Phobos, below. Space Shuttle Mission: STS-130LAUNCH OCCURRED EARLY MONDAY MORNING FEB 8 AT 4:14 AM EST Image Above: Space Shuttle Endeavour roars off Launch Pad 39A on its STS-130 mission to deliver Tranquility and cupola to the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA TV › High-res image  Image Above: The flags are flying proud at Launch Pad 39A near Space Shuttle
Endeavour at › High-res image NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett › Meet the STS-130 Crew Endeavour's STS-130 Mission Commander George Zamka will lead the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. Terry Virts will serve as the pilot. Mission Specialists are Nicholas Patrick, Robert Behnken, Stephen Robinson and Kathryn Hire. Virts will be making his first trip to space. Shuttle Endeavour and its crew will deliver to the space station a third connecting module, the Italian-built Tranquility node and the seven-windowed cupola, which will be used as a control room for robotics. The mission will feature three spacewalks and last two weeks. Additional Resources STS-130 Press Kit (8.7 Mb PDF) STS-130 Mission Summary (448 Kb PDF) Reusable Solid Rocket Motor and Solid Rocket Boosters Fact Sheet: Remaining Shuttle Missions (1.3 Mb PDF) Orbiter Status About the Orbiters THIS WAS THE LAST NIGHT LAUNCH OF A US SPACE SHUTTLE WATCH IT CONTINUING COVERAGE ON NASA TELEVISION at: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html FROM SPACEWEATHER.COM PLANETS AT NOON: Jupiter
and Mercury are converging for a remarkable conjunction.
Human eyes cannot see the conjunction, but the Solar and
Heliospheric Observtory (SOHO) can. It is shown using Universal Time which is 5 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time which will  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Several European-built observatories in Chile have
escaped damage from the massive 8.8 earthquake that struck the
The European Southern Observatory's (ESO) three major
telescope centers perched high up in Chile's Atacama Desert
No injuries were reported at the telescope centers,
though the massive
earthquake has killed more than 700 and The earthquake's epicenter was located 71 miles (115 km)
north-northeast
"ESO expresses its deepest condolences to the families of
the victims, and its sympathy and support to all those affected
ESO officials urged astronomers slated to visit Chile to
use its three telescope facilities to put their plans on hold until
ESO has three main observatories, each with multiple
telescopes, on the Atacama
Desert at altitudes up to
At La Silla, power cuts halted observations overnight on
Saturday. Other instruments at Paranal were unaffected by
ESO officials also plan to build a giant new observatory,
the European Extremely Large optical/infrared Telescope | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY
FOR 2010 March 26
Image Credit & Copyright: Anna Morris
Explanation: A young crescent Moon shares the western sky with sister stars of the Pleiades cluster in this pretty, evening skyscape recorded on the March equinox from San Antonio, Texas. In the processed digital image, multiple exposures of the celestial scene were combined to show details of the bright lunar surface along with the Pleiades stars. Astronomical images of the well-known Pleiades often show the cluster's alluring blue reflection nebulae, but they are washed-out here in the bright moonlight. Still, during this particular night, skygazers in South and Central America could even watch the 5 day old Moon occult or pass in front of some of the brighter Pleiades stars.
SATURN BELOW IS FROM SPACEWEATHER.COM
SATURN'S RINGS: On March 22nd Saturn was "at opposition." That's astronomy jargon for "Saturn and the sun are on opposite sides of the sun and sky." Saturn rises at sunset and soars overhead at midnight, up all night. This arrangement has a striking effect on Saturn's rings. It makes them bright. Amateur astronomer Christopher Go of the Philippines photographed the phenomenon 2010 March 22nd:
Photos taken through an
11-inch Celestron
telescope
"The rings are very bright due to the Seeliger Effect," says Go. Also known as the "opposition effect," the Seeliger effect has been observed on the Moon, Earth and Mars. It happens when sunlit objects (such as the icy particles that make up Saturn's rings) hide their own shadows. A process called coherent backscattering may also contribute to the extra luminosity.
Whatever the details may be, the net result is beautiful. "The Seeliger Effect should be operative for a few more days," says Go. Readers with backyard telescopes should take a look: sky map.
more images: from Torsten Hansen of Boos, Germany; from Efrain Morales Rivera of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico;
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