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Explanation: This striking line of 13 closely spaced craters on Jupiter's moon Ganymede was photographed by the Galileo spacecraft in 1997. The picture covers an area about 120 miles wide and the chain of craters cuts across a sharp boundary between dark and light terrain. What caused this crater chain? Remarkably, the exploration of the Solar System, has shown that crater chains like this one are not unique, though they were considered mysterious until a dramatic object lesson was offered by comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. In 1994 many denizens of planet Earth watched as huge pieces of this torn comet slammed into Jupiter itself in a spectacular series of sequential impacts. It is very likely that similar torn comets from the early history of the Solar System are responsible for this and other crater chains.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 - comet - Ganymede
Publications with words: comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 - comet - Ganymede
See also:
- Vega and Comet 12P Pons-Brooks
- APOD: 2023 November 28 Á Ganymede from Juno
- APOD: 2023 November 26 Á A Dust Jet from the Surface of Comet 67P
- Galaxies and a Comet
- APOD: 2023 September 11 Á Beautiful Comet Nishimura
- APOD: 2023 September 9 Á Comet Nishimura Grows
- APOD: 2023 September 3 Á Comet Schwassmann Wachmann 3 Fragments