A huge rock, some 500-metres-long, hit Jupiter and created a hole the size of the Pacific Ocean, roughly the equivalent of Jupiter’s Little Red Spot, scientists say.
It was the first time scientists had monitored an asteroid hitting the planet. Previously, it had been thought that icy comets hit Jupiter after being sucked in by its gravitational field. Researchers said the discovery was “intriguing” and a reminder that the solar system is a “complex and violent” place, reports the journal Icarus. It was shortly after lunchtime July 19, 2009, that amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley became the first to notice the impact from the observatory in his home in New South Wales, Australia, according to the Daily Mail.
He thought it was a dark spot but having got a better angle, he could see it was entirely black, meaning an impact had occurred. He contacted Nasa and until now there has been confusion over what could have caused such spot to appear on the planet’s surface.
Researchers used data from three infrared cameras to examine Jupiter’s atmosphere, the composition of certain gases and chemical conditions in the impact debris.
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Bappi Lahiri in Grammy jury for 2012
Mumbai: Bollywood music composer Bappi Lahiri has added another feather to his cap by becoming the first Indian composer to be in the Grammy jury for the awards in 2012.
“I will be a jury member in the Grammy awards next year. I will be among the members, who vote to decide a winner. This is the first time an Indian composer is being given this place,” Lahiri said. This year Lahiri had also sent in his album World, Peace And Harmony” for the prestigious awards. It got him a spot in the top 50 Grammy albums but, however, lost out on the main five nominations. In the album released only in the US, the 58-year-old composer has collaborated with popular saxophone player Gerald Albright and himself sang and also played the tabla.
—IANS