Sciencehubble telescopejupiterjupiter great red spot

Jupiter's 'Giant Eye' Makes Planet Look Like Cyclops

Psst. Jupiter's Been 'Spying' On You.
Open Image Modal
By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

|

Astronomers may keep a close watch on Jupiter, and the fifth planet from the sun seems to be returning the favor. At least, that’s what it looks like from this new photograph showing Jupiter with a giant "eye" on its surface:

The photo was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on April 21 as astronomers monitored changes in Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, an immense and ongoing cyclone on the planet's surface.

According to NASA, the “eye” in the picture is really the shadow of the Jovian moon Ganymede, which happened to cast a shadow directly on the center of the storm.

The space agency said in a written statement:

“Hubble treats astronomers to gorgeous close-up views of the eerie outer planets. But it's a bit of a trick when it seems like the planet's looking back at you...[Ganymede’s shadow] gave the giant planet the uncanny appearance of having a pupil in the center of a 10,000-mile-diameter ‘eye.’”

Talk about the eye of the storm!

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

Wonders Of Astronomy
Pluto's Tiny Moon(01 of09)
Open Image Modal
In July, NASA said that its Hubble Space Telescope discovered an eight to 21-mile-wide moon circling the dwarf planet. (credit:NASA, ESA, and M. Showalter (SETI Institute))
Huge Mountain Discovered On Asteroid(02 of09)
Open Image Modal
NASA's Dawn, an ion-propelled spacecraft that traveled 1.7 billion miles before reaching the asteroid Vesta in July, sent back images in October revealing that Vesta is home to a mountain larger than any mountain on Earth.In December, NASA released new images that Dawn took when it was orbiting only 130 miles above the asteroid, the closest it will get to Vesta. Dawn will continue to image Vesta until next summer, when it will make its way to Ceres, a bigger asteroid. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA)
'Star Wars'-Like Planet(03 of09)
Open Image Modal
NASA's Kepler spacecraft found a planet that orbits two suns, driving fans of the "Star Wars" franchise to call it a real-life Tatooine.Astronomers announced Kepler-16b, which is the first circumbinary planet -- meaning it orbits two stars -- in September.Click here for more on Kepler-16b. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle)
'Habitable Zone' Planet Found(04 of09)
Open Image Modal
Scientists in early December announced the discovery of Kepler-22b, a planet with a temperature of around 72 degrees that's in the so-called "Goldilocks," or habitable zone. While the temperature of the 600-light-year away planet could sustain water, it has a radius of 2.4 times that of Earth's, so it's probably too big to harbor life. (credit:NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech)
Biggest Black Holes Ever Discovered(05 of09)
Open Image Modal
Astronomers announced in early December that they had found the biggest black holes to date.The massive black holes, which are 10 billion times the size of the sun, are located over 300 million light years away. (credit:NOAO)
Europa's 'Great Lakes'(06 of09)
Open Image Modal
Scientists had long-thought that a large body of water existed under the surface of Europa, Jupiter's moon, but it was thought to be tens of miles below an icy crust. In November, though, astronomers analyzing data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft found evidence that suggests blocks of ice interact with water below the surface, which could mean that nutrients and energy are moving between the underground ocean and icy shell.Britney Schmidt, the lead author of the study, which appeared in the journal Nature, said that the interaction "could make Europa and its ocean more habitable for life."Click here to read more about water on Europa. (credit:NASA/Ted Stryk)
'Bubbles' At The Edge Of Solar System(07 of09)
Open Image Modal
NASA's Voyager probes -- launched over 30 years ago -- found huge magnetic "bubbles" at the edge of the solar system."The sun's magnetic field extends all the way to the edge of the solar system," astronomer Merav Opher of Boston University said in a NASA statement. "Because the sun spins, its magnetic field becomes twisted and wrinkled, a bit like a ballerina's skirt. Far, far away from the sun, where the Voyagers are, the folds of the skirt bunch up."Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched in 1977. Voyager 1 is currently 11 billion miles away and may exit our solar system within the next few years. (credit:NASA)
Gypsum On Mars(08 of09)
Open Image Modal
In December, scientists announced that NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity may have found gypsum that had been deposited by water."This tells a slam-dunk story that water flowed through underground fractures in the rock," Steve Squyres, a planetary scientist at Cornell University and the principal investigator for Opportunity said in a NASA statement. NASA's Curiosity Rover is en route to the Red Planet and will arrive in August 2012. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU)
Earth-Size Planets Discovered(09 of09)
Open Image Modal
Weeks after the announcement of Kepler-22b, scientists said that they'd discovered Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f, two planets that are about the size of Earth. While the planets are too close to their sun-like star to harbor life as we know it, the discovery proved that the Kepler spacecraft was capable of spotting planets that are Earth-size, and brings us one step closer to finding a true Earth twin.Click here for more on the new planets. (credit:NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip