NASA Science News for May 4, 2006

Right now, Jupiter is having a close encounter with Earth. The giant planet is very bright in the night sky and looks terrific through backyard telescopes.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/04may_jupiter.htm?list161084

FOR RELEASE: 1:00 pm (EDT) May 4, 2006

PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC06-19

HUBBLE SNAPS BABY PICTURES OF JUPITER'S "RED SPOT JR."

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is giving astronomers their most detailed
view yet of a second red spot emerging on Jupiter. For the first time in
history, astronomers have witnessed the birth of a new red spot on the
giant planet, which is located half a billion miles away. The storm is
roughly one-half the diameter of its bigger and legendary cousin, the
Great Red Spot. Researchers suggest that the new spot may be related to
a possible major climate change in Jupiter's atmosphere. These images
were taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys on April 8 and 16,
2006.

To see and read more about the research on the Web, visit:

http://hubblesite.org/news/2006/19

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/

For more information, please contact:

Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
(Phone: 410-338-4514; E-mail: villard@stsci.edu)

Robert Sanders
University of California, Berkeley, Calif.
(Phone: 510-643-6998; E-mail: rsanders@berkeley.edu)

Amy Simon-Miller
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301-286-6738; E-mail: Amy.Simon@nasa.gov)

Imke de Pater
University of California, Berkeley, Calif.
(Phone: 510-642-1947, E-mail: imke@berkeley.edu)

The Hubble Space Telescope is an international cooperative project
between NASA and the European Space Agency. The Space Telescope Science
Institute in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. The Institute
is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in
Astronomy, Inc., Washington.