Jupiter's distress is turning out to be a triumph for the Hubble Space Telescope. Less than a year ago, NASA's myopic lens was an embarrassing symbol of bungled big science. But December's dramatic repair mission restored Hubble's vision. Now the orbiting observatory is delivering on its original promise by producing razor-sharp images.
NASA's Galileo spacecraft, the only probe in position to see the comet's dark-side impacts directly, might have been the scientific star. But its main antenna won't open, so captured data are transmitted very slowly. Even so, Galileo, en route to study Jupiter starting next year, may have detected significant meteor flashes as comet fragments entered Jupiter's upper atmosphere.
Besides Hubble and Galileo, a staggering array of instruments is pointed at Jupiter. Two satellites, the International Ultraviolet Explorer and the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer, have glimpsed the impact fireballs. The Kuiper Airborne Observatory, aboard a NASA C-141 transport plane, has detected methane at impact sites. Astronomers at hundreds of large terrestrial telescopes are frantically capturing images. So, too, are uncounted thousands of amateur astronomers worldwide, many of whom have been able to see the drama through their backyard telescopes.
Data traffic jam. The resulting data are being distributed with unprecedented speed. New images are stored in computers connected to the Internet. So many people have tried to download them that traffic jams have developed. One computer got more than 90,000 inquiries.
With all the eyes aimed at this spectacle, it was serendipity that it exceeded expectations. "Nature has hit us a home run, something we can all enjoy," exults David Levy, co- discoverer of the ill-fated comet. "We're watching with everything we've got."
