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The solar neighbourhood
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| Jupiter's cloud bands with moon Io passing high above and casting a shadow. |
Hubble's high resolution images of the planets and moons in our Solar System can only be surpassed by pictures taken from spacecraft that actually visit them. Furthermore Hubble can return to look at these objects periodically and so observe them over much longer periods (years) than any passing probe.
Our dynamic Solar System
Regular monitoring of planetary surfaces is vital in the study of planetary atmospheres and geology, where evolving weather patterns such as dust storms can reveal much about the underlying processes. Hubble can also observe geological phenomena such as volcanic eruptions directly.
The asteroid Vesta is only 500 km in diameter and was surveyed by Hubble from a distance of 250 million km. The resulting map of the surface shows a strange world with possibly ancient lava flows, as well as a gigantic impact crater.
In comparison with probes that have to travel vast distances and require years of planning to visit the planets Hubble is also able to react quickly to sudden dramatic events occurring in the Solar System. This allowed it to witness the stunning plunge of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 into Jupiter’s atmosphere. Most of the world kept an eye on Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 when it made its fiery plunge into the atmosphere of the giant planet Jupiter during the period 16-22 July 1994.
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Hubble followed the comet fragments on their last journey and delivered incredible high-resolution images of the impact scars, from which important new information on conditions in the Jovian atmosphere was obtained.
The consequences of the impact could be seen for several days afterwards, and by studying the Hubble data astronomers were able to gain fundamental information about the composition and density of the giant planet’s atmosphere. Hubble also recently observed the spectacular break up of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 as it visited the inner Solar System
Left - Impact site of one of the fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.
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Rudi Albrecht
Space Telescope-European Coordinating Facility (ST-ECF)
“We conducted an intensive series of observations of Pluto with Hubble followed by advanced data processing on the ground. We saw surface features emerge for the first time in history on our screens. For me, personally, it was a memorable experience to be able to show this image to the original discoverer of Pluto, Clyde Tombaugh, and in this way let Hubble pay a tribute to his great discovery.”
The Aurorae of Jupiter and Saturn
Hubble’s extremely high resolution and sensitivity have made unique observations of objects within the Solar System possible - amazing images and rich amounts of data about the nature of these objects have been obtained. Hubble has seen unprecedented detail in Jupiter’s auroras.
These auroras are similar to those seen above the Earth's Polar Regions, but are almost 1000 times more energetic and much more complex. Auroras can be seen at both Jupiter’s poles - but only in ultraviolet light, so they could have not been observed with any ground-based telescope.
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Astonishing images of Saturn’s auroras were also taken in ultraviolet light and reveal exquisite new details. The spectacular auroral curtains of ultraviolet light that encircle Saturn’s north and south poles rise more than a thousand miles above the cloud tops.
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Long distance, long term observations
Hubble’s high resolution images are naturally surpassed by pictures taken from planetary probes that actually visit the planets, but Hubble has the advantage of being able to carry out long-term monitoring and can return to look at these objects periodically. This is crucial for the study of planetary atmospheres and geology.
Hubble regularly observes the global seasonal dust storms on Mars, producing astonishing high resolution images. Pluto is the only planet not yet visited by space probes, but in 1994 Hubble made the first clear images showing Pluto and its moon Charon as separate objects from a distance of 4.4 billion kilometres. |
| Above - Pluto and its moon Charon |
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