The shoemaker-levy collided just as any comet or meteor would collide with any planet. It flew through space, (after making the same journey many times till it gradually came closer and closer) then finally it made a trip too close, and was pulled in by Jupiter's gravity, and then. Kaboom! (that was the layman's answer by the way.) If you would like a much better answer on how the comet broke up and it was actually many fragments that impacted Jupiter, or if you would like to know more about how it was discovered.
Shoemaker-Levy 9 most likely was a short-period comet. Shoemaker-Levy 9 is believed to have had an aphelion near the orbit of Jupiter.
Because it was identified (discovered) by Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker and David Levy and it was their ninth comet co-discovered.
July 19,1994.
it happened in 2002
1994, 2010
In 1994, comet Shoemaker-Levy collided with Jupiter. Much of the comet broke up in the atmosphere. The comet left visible scars on Jupiter for many months.
Jupiter
Halley's comet - which returns to our solar system approximately every 75 years - is one example, named after it's discoverer Edmund Halley. Another notable example is Shoemaker-Levy 9. It was observed orbiting the planet Jupiter, but the orbit was decaying - leading to the prediction that it was to crash into Jupiter's surface.
Only one cometary collision was observed - Shoemaker-Levi-9 impact on Jupiter in 1995.
It may have done earlier on in the solar systems life as the planets were forming. More recently, it pulled in a comet known as shoemaker levy 9. Jupiter's gravity first broke the comet up into a `string of pearls`, lots of smaller comets in a row. These then collided with the planet later on, in July 1994. This collision allowed astronomers to observe more deeply into Jupiter's structure, as inner material was ejected after the collision.
In 1994, comet Shoemaker-Levy collided with Jupiter. Much of the comet broke up in the atmosphere. The comet left visible scars on Jupiter for many months.
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
Jupiter
Comet Shoemaker Levy-9 it collided with Jupiter in 1994.
It was a comet that broke apart as it approached Jupiter, due to the strong gravitational forces that the planet Jupiter exerted upon it as it approached, and collided with Jupiter's atmosphere in several gas explosions larger than the planet earth.The comet was calledShumaker Levy 9.
No. You may be thinking of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which did break up and then crash into Jupiter. Hale-Bopp is still headed outward from the Sun, and is expected to return to the inner solar system around the year 4530.
From July 16 through July 22, 1994, pieces of an object designated as Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter.
Halley's comet - which returns to our solar system approximately every 75 years - is one example, named after it's discoverer Edmund Halley. Another notable example is Shoemaker-Levy 9. It was observed orbiting the planet Jupiter, but the orbit was decaying - leading to the prediction that it was to crash into Jupiter's surface.
Shoemaker-Levy 9 Comet The comet was discovered by Eugene & Carolyn Shoemaker and David Levy in 1993. Shortly after the discovery, they determined that comet's elliptical path was on a collision course with Jupiter. The following year, the comet split into over 21 fragments. Between July 16-22, 1994, the fragments impacted Jupiter's atmosphere and surface over several million kilometers. http://www.matter-antimatter.com/shoemaker-levy_9.htm
Jupiter's most distinctive mark is its red spot, which is the most intense hurricane-like storm in the Solar System. It also has a mark where a comet called Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with the planet in 1994.
Sometimes they do; that's what a "meteor shower" is. The point is that all of the rocks and dust given off by a comet, and the head of the comet too, travel the way gravity and the light pressure of the Sun force them to. The head of the comet is freely falling towards the Sun. (if a comet gets close enough to a planet, the gravity of the planet becomes significant, and sometimes the comet will collide with the planet; look at Shoemaker-Levy 9, which hit Jupiter in 1994.) As the heat of the Sun begins to melt the ices of the comet, gas and dust escape from the comet. Because the gas molecules and dust particles are very light, the pressure of the Sun's light pushes them away from the comet; this forms the "tail" of the comet. Over the course of thousands of orbits, the gas and dust spreads out to fill in much of the orbit of the comet. Where the Earth's orbit intersects the comet's orbit, we see annual meteor showers.
Only one cometary collision was observed - Shoemaker-Levi-9 impact on Jupiter in 1995.