Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Participants
- Preface
- The orbital motion and impact circumstances of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
- Observational constraints on the composition and nature of Comet D/Shoemaker-Levy 9
- Tidal breakup of the nucleus of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9
- Earth-based observations of impact phenomena
- HST imaging of Jupiter shortly after each impact: Plumes & fresh sites
- Galileo observations of the impacts
- Models of fragment penetration and fireball evolution
- Entry and fireball models vs. observations: What have we learned?
- Dynamics and chemistry of SL9 plumes
- Chemistry induced by the impacts: Observations
- SL9 impact chemistry: Long-term photochemical evolution
- Particulate matter in Jupiter's atmosphere from the impacts of Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9
- Jupiter's post-impact atmospheric thermal response
- Growth and dispersion of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact features from HST imaging
- Waves from the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts
- Jovian magnetospheric and auroral effects of the SL9 impacts
Observational constraints on the composition and nature of Comet D/Shoemaker-Levy 9
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Participants
- Preface
- The orbital motion and impact circumstances of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
- Observational constraints on the composition and nature of Comet D/Shoemaker-Levy 9
- Tidal breakup of the nucleus of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9
- Earth-based observations of impact phenomena
- HST imaging of Jupiter shortly after each impact: Plumes & fresh sites
- Galileo observations of the impacts
- Models of fragment penetration and fireball evolution
- Entry and fireball models vs. observations: What have we learned?
- Dynamics and chemistry of SL9 plumes
- Chemistry induced by the impacts: Observations
- SL9 impact chemistry: Long-term photochemical evolution
- Particulate matter in Jupiter's atmosphere from the impacts of Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9
- Jupiter's post-impact atmospheric thermal response
- Growth and dispersion of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact features from HST imaging
- Waves from the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts
- Jovian magnetospheric and auroral effects of the SL9 impacts
Summary
What did the break-up of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) and its subsequent impact on Jupiter teach us about the nature and constitution of this comet? The break-up of the comet apparently triggered activity of the fragments. Although a dust coma was continuously present around the fragments that orbited Jupiter, spectroscopic observations did not reveal any sign of gas. The impact itself was so energetic that most molecules of the impactor were dissociated and that any chemical memory was lost. Ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy of the impact sites revealed emission lines from several atoms, giving potential information on elemental abundances. However, the fact that both neutral and ionized atoms are emitting, and that both fundamental and inter-system lines are present, suggest that the medium is out-of-equilibrium and that emitting mechanisms other than simple resonance fluorescence are at work. Ultraviolet, infrared, and radio spectroscopy revealed lines of several molecular species, in emission and/or absorption, that are not normally present in Jupiter's upper atmosphere. In the visible, dark spots due to aerosols developed at the impact sites. It is not clear at the present time which part of this material is coming from preserved impactor material, from the recombination of the dissociated impactor material, from reactions between the impactor's and Jupiter's material, or from material coming from the lower layers of Jupiter's atmosphere. Realistic modelling of the impacts and of the following chemical reactions will be necessary to address all these issues.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and JupiterIAU Colloquium 156, pp. 31 - 54Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1996
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