The Hubble Space Telescope was used to take the sharpest images yet of the recent comet/asteroid impact on Jupiter. Hubble had been “offline” for engineering and calibration since it was upgraded by Shuttle astronauts back in May. Thanks to the quick work by the folks at the Space Telescope Science Institute, Hubble was able to available to observe this rare event.
Close-up Hubble Space Telescope image of Jupiter and its recent impact spot. Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Hammel (Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.), and the Jupiter Impact Team.Hubble image of Jupiter showing its recent impact scar near the bottom of the image. Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Hammel (Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.), and the Jupiter Impact Team.
I am a professional astronomer specializing in the study of comets, asteroids and meteors. This blog will focus on my professional and amateur work in this field.
View all posts by Carl Hergenrother
4 Comments
Hi
i came across the website through picasa. the information posted were very useful for me.
Thanks!
Jupiter serves as an asteroid catcher to protect Earth. Some scientists say that for a planet to sustain life, it has to have an asteroid catcher like Jupiter in its solar system. That gash is seriously the size of Earth! Scary! Cool picture! Anyways, I have a song called “Goodbye Jupiter” you may like! http://identityarmy.wordpress.com/files/2009/07/derek-jordan-goodbye-jupiter.mp3
The Transient Sky - Comets, Asteroids, Meteors 
Hi
i came across the website through picasa. the information posted were very useful for me.
Thanks!
Jupiter serves as an asteroid catcher to protect Earth. Some scientists say that for a planet to sustain life, it has to have an asteroid catcher like Jupiter in its solar system. That gash is seriously the size of Earth! Scary! Cool picture! Anyways, I have a song called “Goodbye Jupiter” you may like! http://identityarmy.wordpress.com/files/2009/07/derek-jordan-goodbye-jupiter.mp3
How exciting!