Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impact Site on Jupiter

This image of the giant planet Jupiter reveals the impact sites of fragments "D" and "G" from Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. The large feature was created by the impact of fragment "G" on July 18, 1994, at 3:28 a.m. EDT. It entered Jupiter's atmosphere from the south at a 45-degree angle, and the resulting ejecta appears to have been thrown back along that direction. The smaller feature to the left of the fragment "G" impact site was created on July 17, 1994, at 7:45 a.m. EDT by the impact of fragment "D". This image was taken 1 hour and 45 minutes after fragment "G" impacted the planet. The "G" impact has concentric rings around it, with a central dark spot 1,550 miles (2,500 km) in diameter. This dark spot is surrounded by a thin, dark ring 4,660 miles (7,500 km) in diameter. The dark, thick outermost ring's inner edge has a diameter of 7,460 miles (12,000 km), about the size of Earth.