What was the size of Shoemaker-Levy 9?
What was the size of Shoemaker-Levy 9?
0.62137 mi
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9/Radius
How was Shoemaker-Levy 9?
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 was the ninth short-periodic comet discovered by Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker and David Levy. It was first detected on a photograph taken on the night of March 24, 1993 with the 0.4-meter Schmidt telescope on Palomar Mountain in California.
How often does Shoemaker-Levy 9 appear?
By far the most massive planet in the Solar System, Jupiter can capture objects relatively frequently, but the size of SL9 makes it a rarity: one post-impact study estimated that comets 0.3 km (0.19 mi) in diameter impact the planet once in approximately 500 years and those 1.6 km (0.99 mi) in diameter do so just once …
Why is Shoemaker-Levy 9 famous?
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 (formally designated D/1993 F2) broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects.
Why was Shoemaker-Levy 9 important?
Shoemaker-Levy 9 left dark, ringed scars that were eventually erased by Jupiter’s winds. While the impact was dramatic, it was more than a show. It gave scientists an opportunity to gain new insights into Jupiter, Shoemaker-Levy 9, and cosmic collisions in general.
What happened to Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 before it collided with Jupiter?
Further observations revealed the comet (believed to be a single body at the time) had made a close approach to Jupiter in July 1992 and had been torn apart by tidal forces resulting from the planet’s powerful gravity. Shoemaker-Levy 9 left dark, ringed scars that were eventually erased by Jupiter’s winds.
Who named Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9?
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (named after its discoverers Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker and David Levy) collided with Jupiter in the first ever observed collision between two objects in our solar system.
Why is Shoemaker Levy 9 famous?
What is the meaning of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9?
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 ( formally designated D/1993 F2) was a comet that broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects. This generated a large amount of coverage in the popular media,…
How was Shoemaker-Levy 9 discovered?
Shoemaker-Levy 9 was discovered by Carolyn and Gene Shoemaker and David Levy in a photograph taken on Mar. 18, 1993 with the 0.4-meter Schmidt telescope at Mt. Palomar. Overview. his composite is assembled from separate images of Jupiter and comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, as imaged by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in 1994.
What was the name of the comet that broke apart?
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 ( formally designated D/1993 F2) was a comet that broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects.
How many nuclei does a comet have?
comet: Cometary nuclei. …nucleus is that of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. That comet was discovered in 1993 as a string of 21 separate but co-moving active nuclei Observations showed that the comet had been captured into orbit around Jupiter and had passed so close to Jupiter on its last perijove passage, 1.3 Jupiter radii….