Monday, March 25, 2019

"Good Night, Moon"

The waning gibbous

19.1 days old

79.8 percent lit

Twenty-five years ago a comet named "Shoemaker-Levy 9" sent a fragment into Jupiter. The date was July 21, 1994. It was one of the first real viral experiences on the world wide web.

See the comet fragment left a dent in Jupiter. Jupiter is a gas giant composed of primarily hydrogen and helium. it is a good thing Jupiter is in the cooler part of the solar system. But, the gaseous nature of Jupiter means that a dent might be permanent. Sure enough, in 1994 when that comet fragment hit Jupiter has left a scar. This is still Jupiter 25 years later.

Photo at NASA (click here). Find a telescope and bring the kids.