2009 Jupiter impact event

2009 Jupiter impact event
Hubble image of the scar taken on July 23 showing a blemish of about 8,000 kilometres (5,000 mi) long[1][2]
DateJuly 19, 2009 (2009-07-19)
LocationJupiter
A picture of the 2009 impact mark captured by NASA Infrared Telescope Facility in Mauna Kea, Hawaii
Keck Observatory (the two in the middle) and NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (right) at Mauna Kea, Hawaii

The 2009 Jupiter impact event, occasionally referred to as the Wesley impact, was a July 2009 impact event on Jupiter that caused a black spot in the planet's atmosphere. The impact area covered 190 million square kilometers, similar in area to the planet's Little Red Spot and approximately the size of the Pacific Ocean.[3] The impactor is estimated to have been about 200 to 500 meters in diameter.[4] (For comparison, the one for the Tunguska event was estimated to be in the 60–190 meters range.)

  1. ^ Dennis Overbye (2009-07-24). "Hubble Takes Snapshot of Jupiter's 'Black Eye'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference hubblesite was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Jupiter pummeled, leaving bruise the size of the Pacific Ocean. University of California, Berkeley press release, July 21, 2009.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference PR2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).