2016 Jupiter Impact Event on:
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An
An astronomical body
An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are often us ...
collided with Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
, the largest planet
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...
in the Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...
, on March 17, 2016. The object in question has not been confirmed by NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
to be an asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
or comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
, but may be so.
Evidence
A video was taken of Jupiter inMödling
Mödling () is the capital of the Austrian Mödling (district), district of the same name located approximately 14 km south of Vienna.
Mödling lies in Lower Austria's industrial zone (Industrieviertel). The Mödlingbach, a brook which rises ...
on March 17 by an amateur astronomer, Gerrit Kernbauer, with a 20 centimeter telescope. During his filming, a light appeared on the right side of Jupiter as viewed from his lens. Another amateur astronomer, John McKeon, posted a video shot using an 11-inch telescope and an infrared filter of the same event, verifying the clip that Kernbauer had posted.
The manager of the NASA NEO Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States.
Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...
Paul Chodas said that there was a greater possibility of the object being an asteroid rather than a comet.
See also
* Impact events on JupiterReferences
{{Jupiter Jupiter Jupiter impact events