NASA news: An incredible black hole appeared on Jupiter – What is this 'dramatic image'?

The “dramatic image” was snapped by NASA’s probe and enhanced by citizen scientist Kevin Gill. The picture features Jupiter’s upper hemisphere where a pitch-black and round shadow has appeared. NASA’s Juno took the picture on its 22nd close flyby of the Gas Giant on September 11, 2019. During the flyby, the spacecraft dipped to a distance of just 4,885 miles (7,862km) above the planet’s cloud tops.

So, what exactly is the dark shadow blemishing the surface of the solar system’s biggest planet?

Could it be a black hole threatening to trap Jupiter in the unavoidable grip of its gravity?

Thankfully, the black hole is completely harmless and is the result of Jupiter’s moon Io passing directly in front of the Sun.

NASA said: “Jupiter’s volcanically active moon Io casts its shadow on the planet in this dramatic image from NASA’s Juno spacecraft.

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“As with solar eclipses on the Earth, within the dark circle racing across Jupiter’s cloud tops, one would witness a full solar eclipse as Io passes in front of the Sun.

“Such events occur frequently on Jupiter because it is a large planet with many moons.”

According to the US space agency, the Gas Giant boasts a total of 75 lunar satellites.

Similarly to Saturn, NASA’s 1979 Voyager probe also discovered a faint rung of material running around the planet.

READ MORE: NASA spacecraft will hunt for life on Jupiter’s moon Europa

However, unlike most of the other planets in the solar system, the Sun never moves far away from the planet’s equator.

Jupiter’s axis is not titled highly when compared to its orbit, meaning the Sun often crosses paths with Jupiter’s moons.

As a result, NASA said dark shadows like the one above often fall on the planet’s cloudy surface.

The exact same effect takes place on Earth during a spectacular total solar eclipse.

READ MORE: NASA’s Juno spacecraft captures stunning image of gas giant

NASA said: “Juno’s close proximity to Jupiter provides an exceptional fish-eye view, showing a small fraction near the planet’s equator.

“The shadow is about 2,200 miles (3,600km) wide, approximately the same width as Io, but appears much larger relative to Jupiter.

“A little larger than Earth’s Moon, Io is perhaps most famous for its many active volcanoes, often caught lofting fountains of ejecta well above its thin atmosphere.”

All of Juno’s raw images are shared online in the JunoCam archive and NASA encourages members of the public to play around with and process them as they see fit.

source: express.co.uk