Diagonal line running across Jupiter

What can you say to that, there is definitely a line there, looks like a telephone wire :lol: only kidding.
Interestingly enough, the animation I put up here in the start of June has that region in it (I think) and there is no sign of it there, then again, I dont have anywhere near the resolution he has in his image so it probabily would not have been visible anyway if it was there then.

It doesnt look like a chance alignment to me, is it possible that there was an asteroid that skimmed the top of the atmosphere leaving this trail, that's what it looks like to me.

Conspiracy! The image has vanished off the website - when I visited, the latest images were dated 5/6 May 06. Swiz! These are on the Jupiter06 page - I couldn't see a "Files" section link.

Phil

I'll never forget the day I saw the face of Bart Simpson on Jupiter.
Bad luck I had no camera with me.

Philip,

You'll see the Arditti images on the IFAS files section.

I mentioned in an earlier post that you can contact Arditti if you want to obtain those images.

Dave, as you said, It could be an asteroid skimming the upper atmosphere. If that is the case it would be a unique find. This really needs further investigations.

Eamonn A

Thanks Eamon.

Wow - that really is a serious artifact! It appears most visible in the Red and Infrared images, and is almost completely lost in the full colour stacks. Could this be a residual heat signature from a meteoroid burning up? Most unusual.

Phil.

Philip,

That 'line' seems to be an unusual chance alignment of small faint spots or streaks -- a jovian canal!!


The theory of an asteroid or small comet grazing the upper atmosphere of Jupiter and creating a linear disturbance is an interesting one. There must be many such collisions due to Jupiter's gravitational dominance of its part of the solar system. The curve of the line in the images, particularly the earliest ones, does suggest something like a great circle on Jupiter that has already been modified by the faster rotation of the equatorial regions. It would be good if some higher resolution images were available of these longitudes about this time, but there don't seem to be any. Unless some have been taken by the HST, I think we are unlikely to solve this mystery.


Eamonn A