383787 02: The largest moon in the solar system, Ganymede, is captured here next to the planet Jupiter … [+]
Getty Images
The largest planet in our solar system is a fairly easy target, with all its gargantuan mass and gravity. It looks like something gave up its own existence to try to hit Jupiter, but when it comes to a gas giant it’s a pretty tough task.
Instead, the large asteroid, or small comet or who knows, what generated a bright lightning that picked up on Monday the Brazilian astronomer José Luis Pereira.
“There’s not much information on the impacting object yet, but it’s likely to be big and / or fast!” the European Space Agency he said on Twitter Tuesday.
Jupiter is no stranger to this kind of abuse.
An amateur astronomer first detected a similar flash in August 2019, the last in a relatively long history of impacts.
You can also find online observations of the 2018, 2016, 2012, 2010 and 2009 attacks on Jupiter.
Of course, the most famous case of attacking the great planet probably dates back to the 1990s when Comet Shoemaker-Levy fragmented and attacked Jupiter in June 1994.
Comet P / Shoemaker-Levy 9, taken by planetary camera 2 of the Hubble Space Telescope in wide field mode. … [+]
Corbis through Getty Images
It seems unlikely that what Jupiter touched this week will come close to measuring cometary collision, but astronomers are currently busy reviewing observations of the planet for clues.
If we never get more details about this impact, don’t worry – we’ll surely see more in the not-too-distant future.