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Preface

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2009

Keith S. Noll
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 1995
Harold A. Weaver
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 1995
Paul D. Feldman
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 1995
Keith S. Noll
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore
Harold A. Weaver
Affiliation:
Applied Research Corporation, Landover, Maryland
Paul D. Feldman
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University
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Summary

In a cosmic sense, the collision of the ninth periodic comet discovered by the team of Carolyn and Gene Shoemaker and David Levy with the planet Jupiter was unremarkable. The history of the solar system, indeed its very genesis, has been marked by countless such events. The cratered surfaces of planetary bodies are a testament to this ubiquitous phenomenon; even the Earth's ephemeral surface records the continued action of this elemental process in impact craters and in the fossil record.

In human terms, on the other hand, the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9's 20-odd fragments into Jupiter was an unprecedented event of global significance. After a year of planning and preparation, the largest astronomical armada in history focussed on the planet Jupiter in July 1994. News of each successively more astonishing image or spectrum was broadcast with almost instantaneous speed over the world's increasingly sophisticated computer communications network. Astronomers were, for a time, to be found on daily newscasts and the front pages of newspapers. For a week in July, the world looked up from its normal preoccupations long enough to notice, and to ponder, the awesome beauty of the natural world and the surprising unpredictability of the universe.

Still one more perspective on this event remains. What has science gained from the terabytes of images, lightcurves and spectra obtained over the entire range of the electromagnetic spectrum?

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The Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Jupiter
IAU Colloquium 156
, pp. xiii - xiv
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1996

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  • Preface
    • By Keith S. Noll, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 1995, Harold A. Weaver, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 1995, Paul D. Feldman, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 1995
  • Edited by Keith S. Noll, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Harold A. Weaver, Applied Research Corporation, Landover, Maryland, Paul D. Feldman, The Johns Hopkins University
  • Book: The Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Jupiter
  • Online publication: 12 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511525056.002
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  • Preface
    • By Keith S. Noll, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 1995, Harold A. Weaver, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 1995, Paul D. Feldman, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 1995
  • Edited by Keith S. Noll, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Harold A. Weaver, Applied Research Corporation, Landover, Maryland, Paul D. Feldman, The Johns Hopkins University
  • Book: The Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Jupiter
  • Online publication: 12 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511525056.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Preface
    • By Keith S. Noll, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 1995, Harold A. Weaver, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 1995, Paul D. Feldman, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, May, 1995
  • Edited by Keith S. Noll, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Harold A. Weaver, Applied Research Corporation, Landover, Maryland, Paul D. Feldman, The Johns Hopkins University
  • Book: The Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Jupiter
  • Online publication: 12 September 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511525056.002
Available formats
×