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Jupiter Shakes it Off

Oct. 17, 2012
Jupiter has been suffering more impacts over the last four years than ever previously observed, including this meteoroid impact on Sept. 10, 2012. Right-hand image is an infrared image NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

Jupiter has been suffering more impacts over the last four years than ever previously observed, including this meteoroid impact on Sept. 10, 2012. The left-hand image was taken from a red-filtered video by amateur astronomer George Hall of Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 10 and processed by Ricardo Hueso (University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain). The right-hand image is an infrared image from NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, taken on Sept. 11. Scientists compare the visible-light images to the infrared images to learn about the fireball's disruption of the Jovian atmosphere. In this case, the infrared view reveals no long-term disturbance. The circles in the annotated version indicate where the impact occurred. Scientists think the fireball was caused by an object less than 45 feet (15 meters) in diameter.

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