Comet Schumeikers - Levi 9 (D / 1993 F2) is a short-period comet that became the first (and until July 2009, the only [1] ) celestial body whose fall on Jupiter (July 1994 ) was recorded by astronomers. This incident was the first observed collision of two celestial bodies in the solar system .
| D / 1993 F2 (Shoemaker-Levy) | |
|---|---|
 Comet Shoemakers - Levy 9, representing a chain of fragments | |
| Opening | |
| Discoverer | Eugene and Carolina Shoemakers , David Levy |
| opening date | March 24, 1993 |
| Alternative designations | 1993e |
| Orbit characteristics | |
| Age 2449,480.5 ( May 8, 1994 ) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.216209 |
| Semimajor axis ( a ) | 6.864795 a. e. |
| Perihelion ( q ) | 5,380563 a. e. |
| Afhelia ( Q ) | 8.349026 a. e. |
| Circulation Period ( P ) | 17,99 a |
| Orbit inclination | 6.0033 ° |
| Last perihelion | March 24, 1994 |
| Next perihelion | fell on jupiter |
| physical characteristics | |
Content
Opening
The comet was discovered on March 24, 1993 at Mount Palomar Observatory by the spouses Eugene and Carolina Shoemaker and David Levy . It already at the time of discovery was a chain of fragments [2] . Calculations showed that before its discovery, on July 7, 1992 , the comet passed 15,000 km from the cloud cover of Jupiter, and tidal forces fragmented it into 21 separate fragments, up to 2 km across, stretching in a chain of 200 thousand km.
Parameters before the collision
At the beginning of 1994, the comet had the following orbital parameters: perihelion of 5.381 a. e .; eccentricity 0.216; inclination of the orbit to the ecliptic 6 ° 00 ′; pericenter argument 354 ° 53 ′; longitude of the ascending node 220 ° 32 ′; average anomaly of 242.7 °; sidereal period of 18.0 years. The absolute magnitude of the comet 6 m .
Before the collision, the comet revolved around Jupiter (unlike most comets orbiting the Sun) in an orbit with extremely high eccentricity (0.998 for 1993), with an apocenter of about 0.33 AU. (50 million km). Computer simulation showed that the comet may have been in the orbit of Jupiter for about 20 years, but the reliability of this conclusion is in question [3] .
Collision with Jupiter
At the next approach to the planet in July 1994, all comet fragments crashed into the atmosphere of Jupiter at a speed of 64 km / s, causing powerful disturbances of the cloud cover (21 collisions were observed, as some fragments decayed before the fall). Fragments fell from July 16 to July 22. The fall of the comet was predicted and observed both from Earth and from space. The points of incidence of the fragments were located in the southern hemisphere of Jupiter, on the opposite hemisphere with respect to the Earth, therefore, the very moments of the fall were visually observed only by the Galileo apparatus, located at a distance of 1.6 a. e. from Jupiter. However, disturbances in the atmosphere of Jupiter that arose after the fall were observed from the Earth after the rotation of Jupiter around its axis.
The first fragment A entered the atmosphere of Jupiter at 20:16 UTC on July 16. In this case, an outbreak with a temperature of 24,000 K occurred, the gas cloud rose to a height of 3,000 km, as a result it became observable from the Earth.
The largest fragment of G collided with the atmosphere on July 18 at 7:34 UTC . As a result, after a few hours, a dark spot with a diameter of 12,000 km arose in the atmosphere (close to the diameter of the Earth), the estimated energy release was 6 million megatons of TNT (750 times the total nuclear potential accumulated on Earth).
See also
- Fall on Jupiter's Celestial Body (2009)
Notes
- ↑ Second strike on Jupiter
- ↑ IAU Circular No. 5725
- ↑ Freqently Asked Questions about the Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter ( link unavailable) . Archived February 25, 2013.
Links
- The fate of comet Shoemaker - Levy. "For science in Siberia." 1994. No. 45. Page eight
- National Space Science Data Center information
- Simulation of the orbit of SL-9 showing the passage that fragmented the comet and the collision 2 years later
- Interactive space simulator that includes accurate 3D simulation of the Shoemaker Levy 9 collision
- Shoemaker-Levy 9 Jupiter Impact Observing Campaign Archive at the NASA Planetary Data System, Small Bodies Node