London, Aug 24 (IANS) A rare flash caused by a meteor colliding with Jupiter has been videographed by an amateur astronomer.
Masayuki Tachikawa, aged 52, recorded the flash of light lasting less than two seconds, at his home in Kumamoto City, southern Japan.
‘I took it for noise signals at first but I was really surprised because the image of the light remained on the video,’ Tachikawa said, according to the Telegraph.
Investigations by American National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Hubble Space Telescope concluded that this flash was caused by a giant meteor as it plunged into the atmosphere surrounding Jupiter.
It is the third sighting of flashes on Jupiter this year, with earlier reports by astronomers based in the Philippines and Australia.
Junichi Watanabe, professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, told Kyodo News: ‘This kind of footage is rare.’
The celestial object that hit Jupiter was most likely less than one kilometre in width as it left no trace after the flash subsided, astronomers believe.
With the availability of sophisticated telescopic equipment, a growing number of amateur astronomers are making significant astronomical observations.
In June, amateur planet-watchers captured on camera a similar fireball that seemed to hit into Jupiter with a flash.
