PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 was a comet that broke apart and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects.
Some of the largest impacts (L, G, and K) were greater that 1 km in diameter, but the density of the fragments was low, about 0.25 g/cm3. The volume of the combined fifteen fragments would make a sphere 1.8 km in diameter. Assuming a prebreakup density of 0.5 g/cm3, the parent body of Shoemaker-Levy 9 had a probable diameter of 1.4 km. The total kinetic energy of all the impacts was equivalent to the explosive yield of 300 Gigatons of TNT.
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, like other comets, was formed when the solar system was in its infancy. It existed for billions of years until it finally collided with Jupiter in 1994. The orbital period of Shoemaker-Levy 9, prior to being captured by the gravitational pull Jupiter somewhere between 1929 and 1972 is unknown.
