Anthony Wesley (born 1965 or 1966) is an Australian

computer programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles ''software developer'' and ''software engineer'' are used for jobs that require a progr ...

and amateur astronomer, known for his discoveries of the 2009 and 2010 Jupiter impact events.

Background

Wesley was born in Glen Innes, Australia in 1965. At as early as ten years old, he was given a small telescope, which sparked his interest in stargazing. By 2003 Wesley had become involved in planetary photography. Over time his work became more focused on Jupiter, leading to his discoveries of the 2009 and 2010 impact events. Prior to these discoveries, scientists did not believe impacts of this relatively small size could be observed from Earth. Wesleys' work also brought to light the vital role amateur astronomers play in space discovery.

Impact discoveries

2009

On 19 July 2009 at approximately 13:30, Wesley found fame after discovering a scar near Jupiter's south pole the size of the Pacific Ocean. Wesley discovered the impact at approximately 13:30 UTC on On 19 July 2009 (almost exactly 15 years after the Jupiter impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, or SL9), Wesley discovered an impact on Jupiter that caused a black spot in the planet's atmosphere. He was at his home

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

just outside Murrumbateman, New South Wales, Australia, using stacked images on a diameter

reflecting telescope A reflecting telescope (also called a reflector) is a telescope that uses a single or a combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century by Isaac Newton as an alternati ...

equipped with a low light machine vision video camera attached to the telescope.

2010

On 3 June 2010, Wesley was away from his home visiting a friend, when with a telescope he took an image of a small celestial object burning up in the Jupiter atmosphere. The observed flash lasted about two seconds. The object was believed to be an asteroid, making it the first image of a meteorite hitting a planet. The find was praised by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

and fellow astronomers, who were under the impression that after the 1994 collision another would not be expected for several hundred years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wesley, Anthony Living people Amateur astronomers 1966 births 21st-century Australian astronomers People from New England (New South Wales)