Astrophysics (Index)About

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

(D/1993 F2, Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9)
(comet that collided with Jupiter in 1994)

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 was a small comet discovered in 1993, determined to be orbiting Jupiter and which collided with Jupiter in 1994. It is presumed to have been captured from a solar orbit in the 1960s or 1970s. At the time of its discovery, it was in a highly eccentric orbit (e=0.9986) with an apoapsis of about a third of an AU, and with a substantial orbital inclination (94° from the ecliptic). The collision as well as the temporary visible effects to Jupiter were observed and analyzed. The event was a clue to the frequency of such impacts, and provided data on the nature of comets and of Jupiter.


(comet,Jupiter,past)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker-Levy_9
http://www.midnightkite.com/sl9.html
https://www.cv.nrao.edu/~pmurphy/patsl9.html
https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9/sl9.html
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~jhora/sl9/index.html

Referenced by page:
comet

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