Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
The Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (D/1993 F2) is a mainly known Comet to be returned in collision with Jupiter. It owes its name with the fact that it is the 9th comet identified by its discoverers Carolyn, Eugene Mr. Shoemaker and David Levy.
Impact
The collisions of the various fragments of Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter took place between the 16 and on July 22nd, 1994 by 44 degrees of southern latitude. Because of rotation of planet, the cometary fragments create a series of impacts throughout this parallel. At the time of each impact, a very strong explosion occurs with a pressure of about 1 bar. It is followed rise of a fireball and matter ejection until an altitude of more than 3000 km. Then the éjectats fall down, causing the heating of stratosphere and the formation of many chemical species. For the first time, the astronomers could observe in vivo , in time and hour, the response of a planetary atmosphere to a major meteoritic impact.
Examples of impacts elsewhere in the solar system
- Meteor Crater, on Earth
- Meteorite of Chicxulub, always on Earth
See too
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