This is a NASA's Hubble Space Telescope image of the impact sites of fragments "D" and "G" from Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 which collided with the giant planet Jupiter. The picture has been image processed to correct for the curvature of the disk of Jupiter, so that the spot appears flat, as if the viewer were hovering directly overhead. The large feature was created by the impact of comet fragment "G" which impacted Jupiter on July 18, 1994. The smaller feature to the left was created on July 17, by the impact of comet fragment "D". The dark crescent, nearly 7,460 miles (12,000 km) across, was produced by material thrown high into Jupiter's stratosphere by the explosion created by the "G" impact. The material might be fine sulfur particles produced as a result of the heat of the explosion. The inner ring might be a sound wave expanding from the site of the explosion. This thin dark ring had a radius of 2,330 miles (3,750 km) across when this image was taken 90 minutes after the explosion. The smallest features in the image are less than 200 kilometers across. This image is a color composite from three separate exposures taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera (filters: 9530, 550, and 4100 Angstroms).
Credits
Credit: HST Comet Team 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. |
