Anthony Wesley (born 1965 or 1966)
is an Australian
computer programmer
A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software.
A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...
and
amateur astronomer
Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers ...
, known for his discoveries of the 2009 and 2010 Jupiter impact events.
Background
Wesley was born in
Glen Innes,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
in 1965.
At as early as ten years old, he was given a small telescope, which sparked his interest in stargazing.
By 2003 Wesley had become involved in planetary photography. Over time his work became more focused on Jupiter, leading to his discoveries of the 2009 and 2010 impact events.
Prior to these discoveries, scientists did not believe impacts of this relatively small size could be observed from Earth.
Wesleys' work also brought to light the vital role amateur astronomers play in space discovery.
Impact discoveries
2009
On 19 July 2009 at approximately 13:30, Wesley found fame after discovering a scar near Jupiter's south pole the size of the Pacific Ocean.
Wesley discovered the impact at approximately 13:30
UTC on
On 19 July 2009 (almost exactly 15 years after the Jupiter impact of
comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, or SL9), Wesley discovered an impact on Jupiter that caused a black spot in the planet's atmosphere. He was at his home
observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. ...
just outside
Murrumbateman,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, using stacked images on a diameter
reflecting telescope equipped with a low light machine vision video camera attached to the telescope.
2010
On 3 June 2010, Wesley was away from his home visiting a friend, when with a telescope he took an image of a small celestial object burning up in the Jupiter atmosphere.
The observed flash lasted about two seconds.
The object was believed to be an asteroid, making it the first image of a meteorite hitting a planet.
The find was praised 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, succeedin ...
and fellow astronomers, who were under the impression that after the 1994 collision another would not be expected for several hundred years.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wesley, Anthony
Living people
Amateur astronomers
1966 births
21st-century Australian astronomers
People from New South Wales