A huge burst of light on Jupiter was recorded September 10th at 11:35 UT by amateur astronomer George Hall. Hall did not actually see the impact. He was, however, recording it with his camera attached telescope. Another amateur astronomer Dan Peterson actually witnessed the flash and reported it to other astronomers for verification. This caused Hall to look through his recordings of Jupiter from that exact time and sure enough…bam! History is made. The impact area could be back in view around 1a.m. ET Tuesday according to amateur astronomers.





This is not the first major impact for Jupiter, The Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1994 made headlines. Jupiter acts as a barrier, absorbing cosmic “bullets.” This is the third major impact witnessed since 2009 and will not be the last. This is just another reason to love this huge gas giant. Life on Earth may depend on Jupiter and these impacts.

Cosmic Log’s Alan Boyle writes:

“Jupiter impacts are of great interest to astronomers, amateur and professional, because they’re part of the orbital billiards game that has shaped our solar system. In some cases, the cosmic interloper is destroyed before it has any visible effect on Jupiter’s cloud tops. In weightier cases, the object breaks up and leaves black marks on the planet’s atmosphere.The case of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1994 is the most notable in recent memory.

Beyond the planetary science, there’s the “phew” factor: Astronomers suspect that giant Jupiter’s gravitational pull serves as a cosmic shield, sweeping up incoming objects that would have a deadlier effect if they were to slam into our planet. Some scientists say that without Jupiter, life on Earth wouldn’t have had much of a chance.”

Future Imaginings and Solutions:

In the future, we will have patrol spaceships that will act as a line of defense to ward off any cosmic Earth killers. These ships could be military or private companies paid to keep these cosmic objects from reaching Earth. However, we need to devise smart and efficient ways to divert or destroy these objects. That remains the question. How should we do this? Lasers may work or solar sails. One thing is for sure, if this burst of light was an impact it was massive. We cannot afford to be passive in our approach to this issue. One huge impact may be all it takes to cause worldwide extinction.

See the video HERE!

Video / Photo : George Hall

Source Article: Robert T. Gonzalez i09.com

About the author Gray Scott is founder and editorial director of SERIOUS WONDER.com. He is a futurist philosopher, speaker, writer and artist. Gray is an active professional member of The World Futurist Society.

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