Jupiter's 'Cyclops' Moment: Ganymede's Shadow Falls on the Great Red Spot

On April 21, 2014, the Hubble Space Telescope captured a truly extraordinary sight: the shadow of Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, gliding directly across the planet's iconic Great Red Spot (GRS).

This celestial alignment gave Jupiter an almost uncanny appearance, as if the immense storm had developed a pupil. The shadow of Ganymede, a moon roughly the size of Mercury, momentarily transformed the 10,000-mile-diameter Great Red Spot into the 'eye' of a colossal, one-eyed planet – a brief but spectacular 'Cyclops' moment.

Hubble was actively monitoring changes within the Great Red Spot at the time of this observation, providing scientists with valuable data on the dynamics of this persistent Jovian storm.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center); Acknowledgment: C. Go and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)