Posted on 09/22/2024 10:37:39 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
New measurements of Neptune's atmosphere by a European space telescope suggest that a comet may have crashed into the gas giant about 200 years ago.
Scientists analyzed the composition of Neptune's atmosphere using data from the Herschel space observatory. They found a peculiar distribution of carbon monoxide in the gas giant's atmosphere, which could be an indication of an earlier comet impact...
Other similar collisions between comets (or asteroids) and planets helped the astronomers detect the telltale signs of cometary impacts.
When pieces of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 slammed into Jupiter in 1994, scientists were able to examine the trajectory and debris to better understand planetary impacts. Instruments aboard the space probes Voyager 2, Galileo and Ulysses also documented every detail of the rare incident.
The data now helps scientists detect the telltale signs of cometary impacts that happened many years ago. Comets, which are sometimes described as "dusty snowballs," leave their mark in the atmospheres of gas giants like Jupiter and Neptune in the form of water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocyanicacid and carbon sulfide. Trace molecules of these compounds can be detected in the radiation emitted by the planets into space.
In February, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) presented strong evidence for a comet impact on Saturn about 230 years ago. That study was published in the February 2010 issue of Astronomy &Astrophysics.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
Comet
It will make your teeth turn green
Comet
It tastes like gasoline
Comet
It will make you vomit
So get some Comet, and vomit, today!
Uh, the answer is in the article. Also, Neptune was only identified as a planet in 1845, and close up pics are only a few decades old.
Takes me back. The Addams Family parody was going through my head the other day.
Yup. Last thing we'd need is a new ring around...you know...
I read some of it. Just thought some Chinese star gazer might have noticed a bright smudge in the sky for a second or two.
Good call, but the kaboom probably wouldn’t have been visible from Earth, even with the largest telescopes, which weren’t in China at that time.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_astronomy
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