Hubble Space Telescope Observes the Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 Collision with Jupiter
From July 16 through July 22, 1994, pieces of an object designated as Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter. This is the first collision of two solar system bodies ever to be observed, and the effects of the comet impacts on Jupiter's atmosphere have been simply spectacular and beyond expectations. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 consisted of at least 21 discernable fragments with diameters estimated at up to 2 kilometers.
IMPORTANT NOTE: These images are for visualization purposes only. They are not suitable for scientific analysis.
After all of 23 named fragments impacted Jupiter, the debris fans out in the south. This image is from July 23, 1994. Large holes in the north of the planet have been filled with HST data from July 15.
