Scar (dark area near Jupiter's limb) caused by a fragment of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9
In modern times, numerous impact events on Jupiter have been observed, the most significant of which was the collision of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 in 1994. Jupiter is the most massive planet in the Solar System and thus has a vast sphere of gravitational influence, the region of space where an asteroid capture can take place under favorable conditions.[1]
Jupiter is able to frequently capture comets in orbit around the Sun; such comets enter unstable orbits around the planet that are highly elliptical and perturbable by solar gravity. While some of them eventually recover a heliocentric orbit, others crash into the planet or more rarely become one of its satellites.[2][3]
In addition to the mass factor, Jupiter's relative proximity to the inner Solar System allows it to influence the distribution of minor bodies there. Dynamic studies have shown that the presence of Jupiter tends to reduce the frequency of impact on the Earth of objects coming from the Oort cloud,[4] while it increases the number of impacts of asteroids[5] and short-period comets.[6]
For these reasons Jupiter has the highest frequency of impacts of any planet in the Solar System, justifying its reputation as the "sweeper" or "cosmic vacuum cleaner" of the Solar System.[7] 2018 studies estimate that between 10 and 65 impacts per year of meteoroids with a diameter of between 5 and 20 meters (16 and 66 ft) can occur on the planet. For larger objects capable of leaving a visible scar on the planet's cloud cover for weeks, that study gives an impact frequency of one every 2–12 years. Even larger objects would strike Jupiter every 6–30 years.[8] 2009 studies suggest an impact frequency of once every 50–350 years for an object of between 0.5 and 1 km (0.31 and 0.62 mi) in diameter; hits from smaller objects would occur more frequently. Another study, from 1997, estimated comets 0.3 km (0.19 mi) in diameter collide with Jupiter once in approximately 500 years and those 1.6 km (0.99 mi) in diameter do so once in every 6,000 years.[9]
^Chebotarev, G.A. (1964). "Gravitational Spheres of the Major Planets, Moon and Sun". Soviet Astronomy. 7: 620. Bibcode:1964SvA.....7..618C.
^Tancredi, G. (1990). "Temporary Satellite Capture and Orbital Evolution of Comet P/Helin-Roman-Crockett". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 239 (1–2): 375–380. Bibcode:1990A&A...239..375T.
^Ohtsuka, Katsuhito (2008). "Quasi-Hilda Comet 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu: Another long temporary satellite capture by Jupiter" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 489 (3): 1355. arXiv:0808.2277. Bibcode:2008A&A...489.1355O. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200810321. S2CID 14201751. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-26.
^Horner, J.; Jones, B. W.; Chambers, J. (2010). "Jupiter - friend or foe? III: the Oort cloud comets". International Journal of Astrobiology. 9 (1): 1–10. arXiv:0911.4381. Bibcode:2010IJAsB...9....1H. doi:10.1017/S1473550409990346. S2CID 1103987.
^Horner, J.; Jones, B.W. (2008). "Jupiter: Friend or foe? I: the asteroids". International Journal of Astrobiology. 7 (3&4): 251–261. arXiv:0806.2795. Bibcode:2008IJAsB...7..251H. doi:10.1017/S1473550408004187. S2CID 8870726.
^Horner, J.; Jones, B.W. (2009). "Jupiter - friend or foe? II: the Centaurs". International Journal of Astrobiology. 8 (2): 75–80. arXiv:0903.3305. Bibcode:2009IJAsB...8...75H. doi:10.1017/S1473550408004357. S2CID 8032181.
^Dennis Overbye (2009). "Jupiter: Our Cosmic Protector?". The New York Times. p. WK7.
^Cite error: The named reference Hueso2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Roulston, M.S.; Ahrens, T (March 1997). "Impact Mechanics and Frequency of SL9-Type Events on Jupiter". Icarus. 126 (1): 138–147. Bibcode:1997Icar..126..138R. doi:10.1006/icar.1996.5636.
and 22 Related for: Impact events on Jupiter information
numerous impacteventsonJupiter have been observed, the most significant of which was the collision of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 in 1994. Jupiter is the...
The 2009 Jupiterimpactevent, occasionally referred to as the Wesley impact, was a July 2009 impacteventonJupiter that caused a black spot in the planet's...
of the object being an asteroid rather than a comet. ImpacteventsonJupiter Plait, Phil. "Jupiter Got Whacked by Yet Another Asteroid/Comet!". Slate magazine...
An impactevent is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects. Impactevents have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems...
In recorded history, the planet Jupiter has experienced impactevents and has been probed and photographed by several spacecraft. Galileo spacecraft entry...
surface, leaving no impact crater. The Tunguska event is the largest impacteventon Earth in recorded history, though much larger impacts occurred in prehistoric...
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. A gas giant, Jupiter's mass is more than two and a half times that of all...
Impactevents have been a recurring theme in fiction since the 1800s. Impactevents have been a recurring theme in fiction since the 1800s. The earliest...
The atmosphere of Jupiter is the largest planetary atmosphere in the Solar System. It is mostly made of molecular hydrogen and helium in roughly solar...
have a different origin from comets, having formed inside the orbit of Jupiter rather than in the outer Solar System. However, the discovery of main-belt...
The exploration of Jupiter has been conducted via close observations by automated spacecraft. It began with the arrival of Pioneer 10 into the Jovian...
renamed "Lita Kino" in some English adaptations), better known as Sailor Jupiter (セーラージュピター, Sērā Jupitā), is a fictional character in the Sailor Moon manga...
amateur astronomer, known for his discoveries of the 2009 and 2010 Jupiterimpactevents. Wesley was born in Glen Innes, Australia in 1965. At as early as...
The magnetosphere of Jupiter is the cavity created in the solar wind by Jupiter's magnetic field. Extending up to seven million kilometers in the Sun's...
about the extinction of the dinosaurs, and the 1994 impact of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 onJupiter. Many stories involve attempts to alter asteroid trajectories...
Created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the original Silk Spectre, Sally "Jupiter" Juspeczyk, was a member of the crimefighting team the Minutemen, while...
North Dakota. similar to the well observed string of impacts of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 onJupiter in 1994. However, more recent work has found that the...
Shoemaker–Levy 9 with Jupiter in 1994, the 2009 Jupiterimpactevent, the Tunguska event, the Chelyabinsk meteor and the impact that created Meteor Crater...
The Vredefort impact structure is the largest verified impact structure on Earth. The crater, which has since been eroded away, has been estimated at 170–300...
Global Information