Jupiter's black eye to be shown off

BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhuanet) -- NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is offering a glimpse at the atmospheric debris kicked up by the comet or asteroid that hit Jupiter in a spectacular collision, according to media reports Monday.

Scientists used the telescope Thursday to capture what they call the "sharpest visible-light picture" so far of the expanding gash. An Australian amateur astronomer, Anthony Wesley, reported the dark mark near the planet鈥檚 south pole. Scientists at Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirmed the new Earth-size 鈥渟car鈥?on Jupiter Monday.

This image shows Jupiter's impact feature (dark spot) left after the King of Planets collided with an object. Finding out what the object was, the size and the velocity in which it hit the gas planet is gong to be difficult. Whatever slammed into the planet and left the huge, glowing scar there remains unknown.

Amy Simon-Miller of NASA鈥檚 Goddard Space Flight Center estimated that the diameter of the object that hit the planet was the size of several football fields. The magnitude of the impact event was rare, Amy Simon-Miller said.

The space agency said the release of the close-up look at Jupiter鈥檚 black eye proves repairs done on the Hubble in May were successful.

(Agencies)