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NASA Probe Spots Bizarre Black Spot the Size of Earth on Jupiter - Photo

© Photo : NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/MaiОсвященная часть планеты Юпитер
Освященная часть планеты Юпитер  - Sputnik International
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The Juno probe is studying the planet’s composition, gravity, and magnetic field in order for astronomers to understand how Jupiter formed.

NASA has shown incredible images of Jupiter with an eerie black spot on it. The Juno probe, which has been examining the solar system’s largest planet since 2016, took the photo on 12 September. The spot is actually an enormous shadow cast by Jupiter’s moon Io as it was passing in front of the Sun.

​Eclipses are not an extraordinary event on Jupiter - it has 79 moons – but the picture shows Jupiter’s massive scale. Io’s shadow is the size of the Earth.

Io itself deserves no less attention. It was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei and is the fourth largest moon in the solar system and the most geologically active object. It has over 400 active volcanoes that spew lava and gas up to 300 miles. There are also more than 100 mountains on Io. Some of them are taller than Mount Everest.

Although NASA has explained the origin of the mysterious black spot on Jupiter, social media users have come up with their own versions.

 

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