Mysterious object possibly strikes Saturn
On July 5, 2025, amateur astronomer Mario Rana, who is also a NASA employee, caught a rare, mysterious flash on Saturn—possibly the first-ever recorded impact on the planet.
Scientists think it could be a comet or asteroid hitting Saturn, which is exciting since its thick clouds usually hide these events.
If confirmed, this discovery could teach us a lot about how often big objects crash into gas giants.
How researchers are investigating the impact event
To figure out what really happened, the Planetary Virtual Observatory and Laboratory (PVOL) is collecting telescope footage from around the world—especially from July 5 between 9:00 and 9:15am UT.
Professor Leigh Fletcher highlighted how vital amateur astronomers are for spotting these hidden impacts: Saturn's dense atmosphere often hides the evidence of impacts.
Teams are also using DeTeCt software to analyze videos and help confirm if Saturn really got hit.