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ALAN BOYLE: See Jupiter?s Great Black Spot. Cool pic of the impact spot on Jupiter, taken by the n?

By Glenn Reynolds

ALAN BOYLE: See Jupiter’s Great Black Spot. Cool pic of the impact spot on Jupiter, taken by the newly-operational Hubble Wide Field Camera. Thanks, astronaut repair-crew!

Plus this: “One big question about the impact is: Why didn’t we see this coming? What does this say about our ability to detect potential killer asteroids or comets before they hit Earth? . . . The good news is that Jupiter acts as something of a gravitational vacuum cleaner, sucking in deep-space impacts that might otherwise whack Earth. The bad news is that much more needs to be done to detect potentially harmful space rocks, and draw up a plan to protect our planet when (not if) we find one. In that sense, Jupiter’s black eye serves as a warning that we better put up our dukes.”

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on July 25, 2009 (boomark / email).