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Explanation: What happens when a comet encounters a planet? If the planet has a rocky surface, a huge impact feature will form. A giant planet like Jupiter, however, is mostly gas. When Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 struck Jupiter in 1994, each piece was swallowed into the vast Jovian atmosphere. Pictured above is a time-lapse sequence of the result of two fragments striking Jupiter. As the comet plunged in, it created large dark marks that gradually faded. The high temperature of gas under Jupiter's cloud tops surely caused the comet fragment to melt before it plunged very far. Because Jupiter is much more massive than any comet, the orbit of Jupiter around the Sun did not change noticeably.
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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 - Jupiter - comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
Publications with words: comet - Jupiter - comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
See also:
- APOD: 2023 March 15 Á Jupiter and Venus Converge over Germany
- APOD: 2023 March 6 Á Jupiter and Venus from Earth
- APOD: 2023 March 5 Á Jupiter and Venus over Italy
- 10 Days of Venus and Jupiter
- Crescent Moon Occultation
- APOD: 2023 February 21 Á Comet ZTF over Yosemite Falls
- APOD: 2023 February 13 Á Comet ZTF and Mars