Hubble views new dark spot on Jupiter This Hubble picture, taken
on 23 July, is the sharpest visible-light picture taken of the
atmospheric debris from a comet or asteroid that collided with
Jupiter on 19 July. This is Hubble's first science observation
following its repair and upgrade in May. The image was taken
with the new Wide Field Camera 3. The combination of the Hubble
data with mid-infrared images from ground-based telescopes will
give astronomers an insight into changes of the vertical
structure of Jupiter's atmosphere due to the impact. The
expanding spot is about twice the length of the whole of Europe.
First discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Anthony
Wesley, the feature is the impact site and "backsplash" of
material from a small object that plunged into Jupiter's
atmosphere and disintegrated. The only other time in history
such a feature has been seen on Jupiter was in 1994 during the
collision of fragments from comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. The spot
looks strikingly similar to comet Shoemaker