Astronomer discovers 'giant hole' on Jupiter

Jupiter, largest planet in the solar system. Photo Courtesy: NASA.

In a startling discovery, an amateur Australian astronomer has spotted a giant hole, the size of the Earth, on planet Jupiter -- a finding corroborated by US space agency NASA.

Anthony Wesley said he spotted the dark "scar" which had suddenly appeared on Jupiter through a homemade telescope, from the yard of his rural home near Canberra on Sunday night, 'The Times' reported.

"About 11 pm, I went inside to have a break and watch the British Open golf on TV, and by the time I came back out at about 1 am the impact point had rotated around into view.

"I couldn't believe it. I thought, 'That wasn't there before' and then I realised Jupiter had actually been hit by something," the 44-year-old was quoted by the leading British newspaper as saying.

Wesley immediately set about alerting the global space community to his find, e-mailing photographs and footage to various amateur and professional Jupiter experts around the world.

Even Nasa confirmed Wesley's discovery on Monday and released their own images. The pictures, taken by the American space agency's infrared telescope in Hawaii, show a "scar" in the atmosphere near Jupiter's south pole.

NASA astronomers believe that the "scar" in Jupiter's atmosphere near the south pole of the gas giant indicate that it has apparently been struck by an object, possibly a comet.

It comes 15 years after Jupiter was bombarded by pieces of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, and in the same week the world celebrates the 40th anniversary of the moon landings.

"I remember watching Jupiter back then, so I grew up with those images of the Shoemaker-Levy. So it was a very surreal feeling to suddenly see this appear on Jupiter again," Wesley, an IT consultant, said.

Glenn Orton, a Nasa scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, praised the discovery. "We were extremely lucky to be seeing Jupiter at exactly the right time, the right hour, the right side of Jupiter to witness the event. We couldn't have planned it better," Orton said