New Scientist: Most current telescopes are not able to directly see an extrasolar planet. But according to Laura Flagg of Northern Arizona University, the next generation may be able to detect one by the brief period of brightness caused by a comet crashing into it. Flagg analyzed the impact of Shoemaker–Levy 9 when it collided with Jupiter in 1994 and found only a small change in the visible light emitted. In the near-IR, however, the brightness would have increased significantly. Flagg believes that the impact raised a cloud of dust that blocked the planet's methane, which typically absorbs starlight.
