Longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century & Jupiter 2009 impact event
[B]The solar eclipse[/B] of July 22, 2009 was the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting as much as 6 minutes and 39 seconds in some places.It caused tourist interest in eastern China, Nepal and India.
The eclipse was part of saros series 136, like the record-setting solar eclipse of July 11, 1991. The next event from this series will be on August 2, 2027. The exceptional duration was a result of the moon being near perigee, with the apparent diameter of the moon 8% larger than the sun (magnitude 1.080) and the Earth being near aphelion where the sun appeared slightly smaller. This was the second in the series of three eclipses in a month, with the lunar eclipse on July 7 and the lunar eclipse on August 6. [Source: Wikipedia] [B]Jupiter 2009 impact event[/B] In July 2009, an apparent impact event occurred on Jupiter, leaving behind a black spot in the planet's atmosphere, similar in size to the planet's Little Red Spot and about the size of Earth. It was first discovered at approximately 13:30 (UTC) on 19 July 2009 (almost exactly 15 years after the Jupiter impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9) by amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley at his home observatory just outside Murrumbateman, Australia with his reflecting telescope which has a 14.5-inch (36.8 cm) diameter mirror. “ When first seen close to the limb (and in poor conditions) it was only a vaguely dark spot, I [thought] likely to be just a normal dark polar storm. However as it rotated further into view, and the conditions improved I suddenly realised that it wasn't just dark, it was black in all channels, meaning it was truly a black spot. |
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