| Astronomers are excited! It's not what's about to | | | | higher-than-normal amounts of ammonia in the upper |
| happen but also what has just happened. We're | | | | atmosphere. The Shoemaker-Levy comet also |
| moving from a strange impact on the planet Jupiter to | | | | churned up extra ammonia, the magazine said. |
| a coming solar eclipse, all within a few hours of one | | | | If you live in the Far East, there's more excitement. Get |
| another. Talk about stuff happening! The weeks | | | | ready for a solar eclipse! |
| activities has nothing to do with December 21, 2012; | | | | Skywatchers are gathering from parking lots in |
| however, I am sure someone will make a connection. | | | | western India to music festivals on remote Japanese |
| An amateur astronomer in Australia noticed the new | | | | islands to witness what NASA describes as an |
| mark on the JUPITER Sunday and tipped off scientists | | | | "exceptionally long" total solar eclipse that will cross |
| at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in | | | | half the planet on Wednesday. "This eclipse has the |
| Pasadena, California, who then confirmed it was the | | | | potential to be observed by more people than any |
| result of a new impact, NASA said. It's not clear what | | | | eclipse in all of history," said MIT astronomer Richard |
| the object was that crashed into Jupiter's poisonous | | | | Binzel, who will be in Shanghai leading an expedition of |
| atmosphere. | | | | observers and a group of eclipse chasers. "Essentially, |
| Glenn Orton, a JPL scientist, told the magazine New | | | | every inhabitant of all of India and China will be able to |
| Scientist that it could have been a block of ice from | | | | see at least part of the sun covered throughout the |
| somewhere in Jupiter's neighborhood, or a wandering | | | | day," he said. |
| comet that was too faint for astronomers to have | | | | The path of the total eclipse will stretch across the |
| detected before impact. "We were extremely lucky to | | | | heart of Asia -- from India's Bay of Cambay, over the |
| be seeing Jupiter at exactly the right time, the right | | | | Himalayas and across China and the southern islands |
| hour, the right side of Jupiter to witness the event. We | | | | of Japan. Though the instance of greatest eclipse will |
| couldn't have planned it better," Orton said in a NASA | | | | occur over the Pacific Ocean at six minutes, 39 |
| interview. | | | | seconds, people in some areas of China and Japan will |
| Let's keep those impacts on other planets: none here | | | | experience up to more than six minutes of darkness, |
| please! :-) | | | | according to predictions by Fred Espenak of NASA's |
| Thermal images taken by NASA also showed a bright | | | | Goddard Space Flight Center and J. Anderson of the |
| spot where the impact took place, which meant the | | | | Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. |
| crash warmed the lower atmosphere in that area, | | | | Better check your horoscope! |
| New Scientist said. Researchers also found hints of | | | | |