July 2017. An amazing phenomenon happened. For 90 seconds, the Australian skies were lit up, as a meteor entered the atmosphere of our planet. But more than its rather long light show in the Australian skies, what’s more amazing is that the meteor did not crash land on Earth. Instead, it went out of the atmosphere, and went back into space. It’s a really puzzling phenomenon, one that leaves one asking “why?”
Scientists from the Desert Fireball Network at Curtin University has found the reason why:
… Earth acted as a slingshot to alter the orbit of a meteor and propel it back into deep outer space near Jupiter.
[...]
"The most intriguing quality about this fireball is that it basically used Earth as a type of slingshot, gaining itself an 'express ticket' to Jupiter, where it will most likely spend around 200 thousand years in an orbit near the gas giant. We estimate it will very likely have a close encounter with Jupiter in 2025."
Intrigued by the meteor, scientists then examined extensive data on this fireball to know more about it.
Details over at PHYS.org.
(Image Credit: Curtin University/ PHYS.org)