Shoemaker-Levy 9
and it's impact with Jupiter
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What is
Shoemaker-Levy 9?
Comet
Shoemaker-Levy 9 (formally designated D/1993 F2) was so-named because
it was the ninth short-period comet discovered by Carolyn and Eugene M.
Shoemaker and David Levy. It was first detected in a photograph taken
on the night of March 24, 1993 with the 0.4-meter Schmidt telescope at
the Mount Palomar Observatory in California, and subsequently observed
by many other astronomers. It was the first comet observed while it was
orbiting a planet rather than the Sun. The comet was also unusual
because it was in fragments (ranging in size up to 2km in diameter),
evidently due to a close encounter with the planet Jupiter in July
1992. It is thought to have been pulled apart by tidal forces when it
approached closer than its Roche limit.
During the period
July 16 – July 22, 1994, over twenty fragments of the
comet collided with Jupiter's southern hemisphere at 60 kilometers (37
miles) per second, providing the first direct observation of the
collision of two solar system objects. The collision resulted in
disruptions in Jupiter's atmosphere, such as plumes and bubbles of gas,
and dark spots in the atmosphere which remained visible for several
days.
The event was
closely observed and recorded by astronomers worldwide,
because of its tremendous scientific importance. The event also had a
large amount of coverage in the popular media (unusual for an
astronomical event), probably in part due to the fascination with the possibility of
comet impacts with Earth.
The largest
impact was caused by Fragment G, at 7:32am (UTC) on 18
July. This released energy estimated to be the equivalent of six
million megatons of TNT (the total estimated for all the impacts is
forty million megatons). The mark left as a result of this was greater
than the diameter of the Earth.
The event brought
to the fore Jupiter's role in sweeping the inner
solar system free of debris, which is thought to be a prerequisite for
unbroken development of life. It also served as a dramatic example of
the role played by the Interplanetary Superhighway in solar system
dynamics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker-Levy_9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Copyrights
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