Astronomers Consider A New Way To Detect Distant Comets

Astronomers have come up with a possible way to observe comets in other solar systems, which is very difficult if not impossible with current methods:

During the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter in 1994, a noticeable flash of light was produced. “After the impact, sunlight that would have normally been absorbed by the large amount of methane in Jupiter’s atmosphere was instead reflected by the cometary material from the impacts,” the study explained. “As a result… where the planet would normally have low reflectivity, it brightened substantially and stayed brighter for at least a month.”

Let’s find out how they use similar observations to detect comets on page 2

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One Comment;

  1. Erik Dalton said:

    Seems promising? A nice way of saying you hope they find some way to do what they are hoping to do in the future. And is that a wikipedia reference in the article!!?!? What a laugh!

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