According to a new study, Jupiter is exposed to meteorites and other celestial bodies visible from the earth, on average, 6, 5 times a year.
"This estimate is based on observations of a group of 60 amateur astronomers. The figure turned out below our expectations," said French astronomer and project coordinator Marc Delcroix in a statement.
Since June 2010, amateur astronomers have seen collisions in the atmosphere of Jupiter four times, including the last recorded collision in March 2016, made by the Austrian Gerrit Kernbauer and the Irishman John McKeon.
"Over the past three years, amateur astronomers from Europe, the USA and Australia have analyzed more than 53,000 videos," Delcroix said.
The group is working to improve software that would facilitate the work of astronomers.
Amateur astronomers made an image of a fireball in the atmosphere of Jupiter on March 17th.
"This should help clarify the impact assessment on Jupiter, and we hope to open new clashes," Delcroix said.
“Unfortunately, we are dealing with statistics of a very small number of detected impacts, but plans to improve our detection methods. We hope that systematic searches will help us discover more of these objects,” said astronomer Ricardo Hueso of the University of the Basque Country in Spain. "This will allow us to learn more about the current structure of the outer part of the solar system, as well as the role of Jupiter in protecting the Earth from comparable impacts."
The report was presented Wednesday at an international Jupiter seminar for professional and amateur astronomers at the Cote d'Azur Observatory in Nice, France.
