This image of the giant planet Jupiter, by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, reveals the impact sites of fragments "D" and "G" from Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. The large feature was created by the impact of fragment "G" on July 18, 1994 at 3:28 a.m. EDT. It entered Jupiter's atmosphere from the south at a 45-degree angle, and the resulting ejecta appears to have been thrown back along that direction. The smaller feature to the left of the fragment "G" impact site was created on July 17, 1994, at 7:45 a.m. EDT by the impact of fragment "D". This image was taken 1 hour and 45 minutes after fragment "G" impacted the planet. The "G" impact has concentric rings around it, with a central dark spot 1,550 miles (2,500 km) in diameter. This dark spot is surrounded by a thin dark ring 4,660 miles (7,500 km) in diameter. The dark thick outermost ring's inner edge has a diameter of 7,460 miles (12,000 km) - about the size of the Earth. The picture is a combination of separate images taken thorugh several color filters to create this "true color" rendition of Jupiter's multi- colored clouds. The impact sites are located in Jupiter's southern hemisphere at a latitude of 44 degrees.
Credits
Credit: H. Hammel, MIT and NASA| About The Object | |
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| Object Name | Jupiter, Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 |
| About The Object | |
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| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
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| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
