Search Is on Jupiter Impact Scar: How to Watch Live Online Tonight

Photo of impact on Jupiter on Sept. 10, 2012, by amateur astronomer George Hall of Dallas, Texas.
Amateur astronomer George Hall captured this image of an apparent impact on Jupiter while recording video telescope observations of the planet on Sept. 10, 2012, from Dallas Texas. (Image credit: George Hall/George's Astrophotography)

Astronomers and amateur observers are keeping a close eye on Jupiter to see if a surprising impact on the planet Monday (Sept. 10) has left a visible scar, and you can join the search online.

Tonight, the online night sky observing website Slooh Space Camera will stream a live telescope view of Jupiter from its Canary Islands Observatory off the west coast of Africa in hopes of spotting any evidence from Monday's space rock impact.

On Monday, amateur astronomer Dan Peterson of Racine, Wisc., reported seeing an impact on Jupiter in the form of a bright flash while observing the gas giant planet through a telescope. His sighting was confirmed by another amateur astronomer, George Hall of Dallas, Texas, who recorded a video of the Jupiter impact as it happened.

The Slooh Space Camera's live Jupiter viewing session tonight will begin at 10 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. PDT, 0200 Sept. 12 GMT) and last about 30 minutes. You can watch the Jupiter webcast live here: http://www.slooh.com

It is unclear if Monday's impact was caused by a wayward asteroid or comet, but follow-up observations may reveal if the Jupiter strike was large enough to leave a visible scar in the planet's upper atmosphere similar to ones seen after impacts in 2009 and 2010.

The Slooh Space Camera provides live views of the night sky from telescopes at different sites around the world, allowing members to observe the cosmos remotely. The website's members are eagerly reserving time on Slooh telescopes to take fresh looks at Jupiter after its latest impact, company officials said.

"Slooh members have already scheduled the Slooh telescopes to image Jupiter for the remainder of the week in search of any impact scars left in Jupiter’s atmosphere," Slooh engineer Paul Cox said.

Editor's note: If you have a photo of Monday's impact on Jupiter, or any other amazing night sky photo that you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

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Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.