Abstract
On 2009 July 19, we observed a single, large impact on Jupiter at a planetocentric latitude of 55^{\circ}S. This and the Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) impacts on Jupiter in 1994 are the only planetary-scale impacts ever observed. The 2009 impact had an entry trajectory opposite and with a lower incidence angle than that of SL9. Comparison of the initial aerosol cloud debris properties, spanning 4,800 km east-west and 2,500 km north-south, with those produced by the SL9 fragments, and dynamical calculations of pre-impact orbit, indicate that the impactor was most probably an icy body with a size of 0.5-1 km. The collision rate of events of this magnitude may be five to ten times more frequent than previously thought. The search for unpredicted impacts, such as the current one, could be best performed in 890-nm and K (2.03-2.36 {\mu}m) filters in strong gaseous absorption, where the high-altitude aerosols are more reflective than Jupiter's primary cloud.
Highlights
Major impacts have modified the structure of Solar System bodies and changed the course of biological evolution on Earth (Kasting & Catling, 2003)
The initial feature consisted of two elements: A streak and a low-contrast extended crescent west of the main spot (Figure 2a), both dark in the visible and bright in the near infrared. This is similar to what was observed for Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9), but it is still a disputed issue how these features were generated by the impact
Our analysis indicates that the chance is more or less equal for the origin of this object to be in the main belt (Hilda asteroids or quasi-Hilda comet population) or from the Jupiter family comet (JFC) population
Summary
Major impacts have modified the structure of Solar System bodies (de Pater & Lissauer, 2010) and changed the course of biological evolution on Earth (Kasting & Catling, 2003). In 1994 several fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) impacted Jupiter between 16 and 22 July (Hammel et al 1995; Harrington et al 2004). The such event was predicted to be hundreds of years in the future (Harrington et al 2004). We revise previous predictions on the impact rates with Jupiter and propose future search methods for their detection
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