 Anticipation grew as the predicted date for the collisions approached , and astronomers trained terrestrial telescopes on Jupiter . Several space observatories did the same , including the Hubble Space Telescope , the ROSAT X @-@ ray @-@ observing satellite , and significantly the Galileo spacecraft , then on its way to a rendezvous with Jupiter scheduled for 1995 . Although the impacts took place on the side of Jupiter hidden from Earth , Galileo , then at a distance of 1 @.@ 6 AU from the planet , was able to see the impacts as they occurred . Jupiter 's rapid rotation brought the impact sites into view for terrestrial observers a few minutes after the collisions . 
