Space: Jupiter might save Earth from devastating asteroid strikes

Jupiter might be a lot more than just another big body in our solar system — the massive gas giant could very well be Earth's protector. Early Monday morning, amateur astronomers captured a brief but bright flash of light on the planet's surface, which scientists now believe was the result of a massive asteroid that could've been headed our way.

What did stargazers see, exactly?

Something mysterious smashed into Jupiter's surface on Monday, resulting in a 100-mile-wide fireball that was large enough to glimpse from a backyard telescope on Earth, more than 454 million miles away. "It was a bright flash that lasted only 1.5 to 2 seconds," said Dan Peterson, the amateur astronomer from Racine, Wis., who first reported the "impact flash" in a post on CloudyNights.com. Scientists think Jupiter may have even "saved Earth from a devastating cosmic collision," says Robert T. Gonzalez at io9.

The Holy Quran states:

“We have adorned the lowest heaven with an adornment — the planets” [Holy Quran, 37:7]


The Ahmadiyya Post, Space. 13 Sept 2012