For over three decades, the Hubble Space Telescope has delivered breathtaking views of distant galaxies and our solar system. Recently, NASA highlighted stunning new images of Jupiter’s swirling Great Red Spot captured between December 2023 and March 2024, showcasing how the veteran observatory continues to transform our view of nearby worlds.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been capturing spectacular views of our Universe since its launch in 1990, giving both astronomers and the public unprecedented insight into the workings of the cosmos. While its deep-space observations of distant star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae routinely make headlines, the observatory has also revolutionized our understanding of our own celestial neighborhood. From the gas giants of the outer solar system to dwarf planets and comets, the telescope serves as a planetary monitoring station, tracking dynamic changes across worlds far beyond Earth. Hubble has imaged other dwarf planets, asteroids and comets across our Solar System too, including the famous Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which crashed into Jupiter in July 1994.
Tracking Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and Jovian Auroras
Among the targets of the telescope’s planetary campaign is Jupiter, which has been documented in multiple wavelengths and observing programs. Recently released observations highlight Hubble Space Telescope images of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot spanning about 90 days between December 2023 and March 2024, providing researchers with detailed motion tracking of the famous storm. These crisp snapshots complement other specialized captures, including an image of aurorae on Jupiter, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Observational Limits and Planetary Neighbors
Despite its versatility, Hubble faces strict operational boundaries when observing the inner solar system. There are no Hubble images of inner planets Earth, Venus and Mercury, however, because Hubble orbits Earth and our planet’s surface would be much too bright for the space telescope’s sensitive optics. Similarly, Venus and Mercury are too close to the Sun for astronomers to risk pointing Hubble at them.
How NASA’s new Nancy Grace Roman space telescope compares
However, the outer solar system remains wide open to its gaze. The telescope has successfully imaged Mars as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope, including Phobos orbiting Mars, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble images of Mars near its farthest point from the Sun, aphelion, on 31 December 2017, and near its closest approach to the Sun, perihelion, on 19 December 2016 show that Mars loses more water molecules when it’s closer to the Sun. Observers have also watched icy visitors pass through the system, including an image by the Hubble Space Telescope of Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring), which made a close pass by Mars on 19 october 2015.
Collaborating Across Generations of Space Telescopes
As newer missions prepare to join the fleet, Hubble’s ongoing planetary monitoring ensures a continuous baseline of data. Less than five years after the revolutionary James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST or Webb) debut, NASA is heading back to the launch pad to deploy another world-class space observatory—the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Called Roman for short, the space telescope will hunt dark matter, dark energy and exoplanets, as well as providing an unprecedented view of the cosmos to all sorts of astrophysicists. With Webb and the venerable Hubble Space Telescope continuing to gather ever more observations, it’s easy to wonder what another mission will add to the mix. But scientists in the know can’t wait for Roman to really get to work early next year. Its unique capabilities will complement Hubble and Webb while creating its own hugely important legacy—even if people aren’t quite as familiar with it yet. Roman is kind of like a quiet underdog,
Elisa Quintana, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Telescope who previously served as Roman’s deputy project scientist for communications, tells Popular Science. All of the data they’re collecting is going to be a goldmine for many, many decades.