Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 Dust

✍ Scribed by Joseph M. Hahn; Terrence W. Rettig; Michael J. Mumma

• Book ID: 102967503
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 705 KB
• Volume: 121
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0019-1035
• DOI: 10.1006/icar.1996.0087

✦ Synopsis

and after solar opposition. As the fragments neared Jupiter in late June 1994, the combined effects of the jovian tide and Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (S-L 9) was imaged with the radiation pressure distorted the dust tails into broad fans that Hubble Space Telescope from January 1994, through solar opconsisted of grains larger than R տ 100 m and were oriented position on April 29, and until impact in July 1994. As noted along the Jupiter-comet direction. The smaller R Շ 100 m by several observers, no anti-sunward dust tails were detected grains were confined to narrower tails whose projected orientaeast of the fragments after opposition (D. Jewitt and J. Chen tion near the nucleus were approximately in the direction of 1994, Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (1993e), IAU Circular Jupiter. The additional light contributed by the smaller grains 5924; Z. Sekanina, P. W. Chodas, and D. K. Yeomans 1994, caused the S-L 9 dust to appear brighter on the jovian side Astron. Astrophys. 289, 607-636; H. A. Weaver et al. 1994, than the trailing side of the dust fans.