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Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9: The “String of Pearls” Comet
A NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of approximately 20 objects that comprise comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9, giving it the resemblance of a "string of pearls." The comet is hurtling toward a July 1994 collision with the giant planet Jupiter.
Hubble's high resolution shows that the comet's nuclei are much smaller than originally estimated from observations with ground-based telescopes. The Hubble observations show that the nuclei are probably less than three miles (5 km) across, as opposed to earlier estimates of nine miles (14 km).
The amount of energy unleashed into the Jovian atmosphere in July 1994 depends on the nuclear sizes, so these HST images provide important information for those seeking to predict the effects of the collisions on Jupiter's atmosphere.
This image was taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WFPC), in PC mode, on July 1, 1993.
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9
- Release DateOctober 18, 1993
- Science ReleaseHubble Investigates Comet on a Collision Course with Jupiter
- Credit
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Close-Up of Bright Nucleus in Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9
This is an enlargement of a NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the "brightest nucleus" in a string of approximately 20 objects that comprise comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9. The comet is hurtling toward a July I994 collision with the giant planet Jupiter. Hubble's high resolution...
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
