FAO: Nathan Rosario

[Tyburn]

Hubble Telescope captures Jupiter damage

The latest pictures from NASA show debris from an object that has plunged into Jupiter.
Scientists used the Hubble Space Telescope to capture the images which they call the "sharpest visible-light picture" so far.
The expanding gash was caused by atmospheric debris, possibly from an asteroid or comet.
A NASA official has estimated the diameter of the object that hit the planet was the size of several football fields.
The new images prove repairs done on the Hubble in May were successful.

I remember a recent discussion when we spoke about the power of Jupiter and its gravity. The object that hit Jupiter wasnt very big at all, it sounds like it wasnt being tracked possibly because it was too small, just a piece of space rubble by the sounds of it. Any impact of that kind to this planet could be a major issue :unsure-1: I dont think big enough to cause apokalyptic problems, but certainly wipe out a city, at the very least (depending on how much burned up on entry) I imagine the reason it shows up so well on Jupiter is because Jupiter is a gas giant without I believe a solid core. its like when you drop a stone in water, you see the impact far more clearly then the same sized stone droped in sand for example :laugh:

[NateR]

A link would be nice. :unsure-1:

Several football fields is still pretty big. It could have definitely done some serious permanent damage to the planet earth if it had hit us. It wouldn't have wiped out all life, but just the fact that we can see the damage on Jupiter from the Earth says a lot.

Do you remember the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet that struck Jupiter in 1994? It's historically significant as the first impact of two celestial bodies that we've actually observed before, during and after. Some of the explosions recorded during that impact were as big as our entire planet.

Here's a pretty fun program:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/impacteffects/

It calculates the effects of comets striking the planet Earth.

For instance if I drop a 100 mile-wide chunk of iron on the Earth, travelling at maximum solar system velocity and impacting at a sharp 90 degree angle, and I'm standing 2000 miles away:

It would create a transient crater 1020 miles wide and 359 miles deep, with a final crater of 2670 miles wide and 2.28 miles deep.

I would be inside the fireball and it would appear 447 times larger than the sun.

Other thermal side effects:
Clothing ignites

Much of the body suffers third degree burns

Newspaper ignites

Plywood flames

Deciduous trees ignite

Grass ignites

It would create an earthquake measuring 13.3 on the richter scale and create:
IX. General panic. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations. Serious damage to reservoirs. Underground pipes broken. Conspicuous cracks in ground. In alluviated areas sand and mud ejected, earthquake fountains, sand craters.

X. Most masonry and frame structures destroyed with their foundations. Some well-built wooden structures and bridges destroyed. Serious damage to dams, dikes, embankments. Large landslides. Water thrown on banks of canals, rivers, lakes, etc. Sand and mud shifted horizontally on beaches and flat land. Rails bent slightly.

The Air Blast would create winds of 13400 mph (that's almost 3 times more powerful than an F5 tornado) with a sound intensity of 155 dB.

Other damage caused by the air blast:
Multistory wall-bearing buildings will collapse.

Wood frame buildings will almost completely collapse.

Multistory steel-framed office-type buildings will suffer extreme frame distortion, incipient collapse.

Highway truss bridges will collapse.

Highway girder bridges will collapse.

Glass windows will shatter.

Cars and trucks will be largely displaced and grossly distorted and will require rebuilding before use.

Up to 90 percent of trees blown down; remainder stripped of branches and leaves.

This is a fun website.:laugh:

[Tyburn]

in terms of cosmic bodies, a few playing fields is miniscule. The thing with Jupiter is that it doesnt need to be a huge impact to show because the planet is completely gas, it effectively shimmers like a drop into water.

I do remember when that commet hit Jupiter. :laugh:

The linkey was just to a tiny artical with no pictures on msn news page :mellow: