An object, apparently a cosmic rock several tens of meters in size, entered the atmosphere of the gas giant with a high probability at 0:39:40 CET this Tuesday.
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The unpredictable cosmic phenomenon was observed by amateur astronomers, which was nicely captured, for example, by the Brazilian astrophotographer José Luis Pereira from São Paulo. Below is his video.
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“It was an emotional experience for me, because I have been looking for such a phenomenon for many years and I want to record it,” Pereira said according to Yahoo News.
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It protects us from asteroids
The impacts of smaller asteroids or cometary nuclei on Jupiter’s atmosphere alone are not uncommon. The last one was observed in August 2019.
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The largest known event was the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1994. It was identified before the impact when the tidal forces of this planet “tore” it into many smaller fragments.
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Jupiter is often a very “good planet” from Earth’s point of view. It protects us from asteroids by literally sucking comets. Due to its enormous size, it attracts comets and asteroids that would otherwise “bomb” the Earth.
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