A number of amateur astronomers spotted a ‘strange light’ while observing Jupiter, earlier in the month.
John McKeon, managed to catch the flash on camera while he was filming the planet in Ireland, and he said he saw a ‘strange light…on the edge of the planetary disc’.
According to The Huffington Post, John was filming a time-lapse of the planets movement, when by sheer coincidence he caught the flash of light in the last capture of the night.
Despite having seen the flash he wasn’t sure if he’d really seen the light, but 10 days later he looked through the videos and found this ‘strange light spot that appeared for less than one second’.
Now before you go calling Scott C Waring to tell him they’ve discovered an alien rave on Jupiter, experts are pretty confident they know what it was.
They’ve suggested it could be an asteroid or a comet and NASA asteroid researcher, Paul Chodas, told Space.com: “It’s more likely to be an asteroid simply because there are more of them.”
It’s been theorised that Jupiter acts as a shield for the Earth diverting comets and asteroids away from the earth with its colossal gravity and it’s not the first time an asteroid has bumped into Jupiter.
Chodas said:
It draws in a lot of asteroids and comets. We are seeing these impact flashes on Jupiter about once a year now, and that’s I believe because of instrumentation.
If the impact’s confirmed, then this would be one of only a handful of recorded impacts ever on the gas giant.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.