The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicThank you for liking
You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!
Detailed observations made by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have led researchers to believe that the flash of light seen on Jupiter on 3 June 2010 was a meteor. This visitor from space did not plunge deeply enough into the atmosphere to explode and leave behind any telltale cloud of debris, as seen after previous Jupiter collisions.
Hubble’s sharp vision and ultraviolet sensitivity were used to seek out any trace evidence of the aftermath of the cosmic collision (right inset). Images taken on 7 June show no sign of dark debris above Jupiter’s cloud tops. This means that the object didn’t descend beneath the clouds and explode as a fireball. If it had, dark sooty blast debris would have been ejected and would have subsequently settled down onto the cloud tops.
Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley first saw the flash at 20:31 UT on 3 June 2010. He was watching a live video feed of Jupiter from his telescope. In the Philippines, amateur astronomer Chris Go confirmed that he had simultaneously recorded the transitory event on video.
This natural colour photo was taken in visible light with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3.