The scar left on Jupiter after the July 2009 impact was caused by an asteroid the size of the Titanic, according to research.
A huge rock some 500metres long hit the planet and created a hole the size of the Pacific Ocean, roughly the equivalent of Jupiter’s Little Red Spot.
It was the first time scientists had monitored an asteroid hitting the planet - previously it had only been thought that icy comets hit Jupiter after being sucked in by its gravitational field.
Point of impact: These infrared Nasa images show particle debris in Jupiter's atmosphere after an asteroid hit the planet on July 19, 2009. The impact and its after-effects can be seen as the bright spot on the lower left of an image taken on July 20 (left), and as the bright smudge on the lower left of an image taken on August 16 (right). By August 2009, the debris had been sheared apart by Jupiter's winds
Researchers said the discovery was ‘intriguing’ and a reminder that the solar system is a ‘complex and violent’ place.
It was shortly after lunchtime on July 19, 2009 that amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley became the first to notice the impact from the observatory in his home in New South Wales, Australia.
He thought it was a dark spot but having got a better angle he could see it was entirely black, meaning an impact had occurred.
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He contacted Nasa and until now there has been confusion over what could have caused such spot to appear on the planet.
Two papers published in the journal Icarus have settled the issues and details how researchers used data from three infrared cameras to examine Jupiter’s atmosphere, the composition of certain gases and chemical conditions in the impact debris.
They concluded the asteroid would have released the equivalent of five gigatons of TNT when it crash-landed and sent debris so high into the air it went above the cloud tops.
Burning crater: Taken three days after the impact on July 22, 2009, the bright white and yellow images show the area of collision and indicate hot temperatures and the presence of hot ammonia upwelling from deep in Jupiter's atmosphere
This caused temperatures to rise by up to 4 Kelvin up to 42 kilometres above the clouds, not a huge amount but of note because it was across the whole planet.
The researchers also tracked gases such as ammonia which were thrown up from the ground when the impact took place, leading them to conclude an impact took place.
Glenn Orton, an astronomer at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said: ‘Both the fact that the impact itself happened at all and the implication that it may well have been an asteroid rather than a comet shows us that the outer solar system is a complex, violent and dynamic place, and that many surprises may be out there waiting for us.
‘There is still a lot to sort out in the outer solar system.’
The impact of the asteroid was almost exactly 15 years after Jupiter was hit by the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.
That sparked headlines around the world when it became the first comet to be observed orbiting a planet having been snared by Jupiter’s gravitational pull around 20 years earlier.
Leigh Fletcher, a researcher at Oxford University, said: ‘Comparisons between the 2009 images and the Shoemaker-Levy 9 results are beginning to show intriguing differences between the kinds of objects that hit Jupiter’.
A huge rock some 500metres long hit the planet and created a hole the size of the Pacific Ocean, roughly the equivalent of Jupiter’s Little Red Spot.
It was the first time scientists had monitored an asteroid hitting the planet - previously it had only been thought that icy comets hit Jupiter after being sucked in by its gravitational field.
01.jpgPoint of impact: These infrared Nasa images show particle debris in Jupiter's atmosphere after an asteroid hit the planet on July 19, 2009. The impact and its after-effects can be seen as the bright spot on the lower left of an image taken on July 20 (left), and as the bright smudge on the lower left of an image taken on August 16 (right). By August 2009, the debris had been sheared apart by Jupiter's winds
Researchers said the discovery was ‘intriguing’ and a reminder that the solar system is a ‘complex and violent’ place.
It was shortly after lunchtime on July 19, 2009 that amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley became the first to notice the impact from the observatory in his home in New South Wales, Australia.
He thought it was a dark spot but having got a better angle he could see it was entirely black, meaning an impact had occurred.
Scientists discover the hottest planet in the universe... where the temperature is a scorching 3,200C
Scientists discover oldest galaxy - that is so far away it takes its light 13.2 BILLION YEARS to reach Earth
He contacted Nasa and until now there has been confusion over what could have caused such spot to appear on the planet.
Two papers published in the journal Icarus have settled the issues and details how researchers used data from three infrared cameras to examine Jupiter’s atmosphere, the composition of certain gases and chemical conditions in the impact debris.
They concluded the asteroid would have released the equivalent of five gigatons of TNT when it crash-landed and sent debris so high into the air it went above the cloud tops.
Burning crater: Taken three days after the impact on July 22, 2009, the bright white and yellow images show the area of collision and indicate hot temperatures and the presence of hot ammonia upwelling from deep in Jupiter's atmosphere
This caused temperatures to rise by up to 4 Kelvin up to 42 kilometres above the clouds, not a huge amount but of note because it was across the whole planet.
The researchers also tracked gases such as ammonia which were thrown up from the ground when the impact took place, leading them to conclude an impact took place.
Glenn Orton, an astronomer at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said: ‘Both the fact that the impact itself happened at all and the implication that it may well have been an asteroid rather than a comet shows us that the outer solar system is a complex, violent and dynamic place, and that many surprises may be out there waiting for us.
‘There is still a lot to sort out in the outer solar system.’
The impact of the asteroid was almost exactly 15 years after Jupiter was hit by the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.
That sparked headlines around the world when it became the first comet to be observed orbiting a planet having been snared by Jupiter’s gravitational pull around 20 years earlier.
Leigh Fletcher, a researcher at Oxford University, said: ‘Comparisons between the 2009 images and the Shoemaker-Levy 9 results are beginning to show intriguing differences between the kinds of objects that hit Jupiter’.
