http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/11jun_missingdebris/One thing is sure: "Jupiter is getting hit more than we expected," says Don Yeomans, head of NASA's Near-Earth Object program of JPL. "Back in the days of Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL-9), we calculated that we should see an impact on Jupiter once every hundred years or so. We considered ourselves extraordinarily lucky to witness the SL-9 event."
"But look where we are now," he continues. "Anthony Wesley has observed two impacts within the past 12 months alone. It's time to revise our impact models [particularly for small impactors]."
Clearly, researchers have a lot to learn, not only about how often Jupiter gets hit, but also what happens when the strikes occur.
"We're continuing the search for debris at a number of major observatories, including Hubble," says Orton. Future observations sensitive to very small amounts of debris and to gases pulled up from Jupiter's deeper atmosphere may yet reveal what happened to the flashy impactor of June 3rd—or lead researchers in new directions entirely.
