Comet Shoemaker-Levy/Jupiter collision. Sequence of images taken at different wavelengths by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing a plume near the term

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Comet Shoemaker-Levy/Jupiter collision. Sequence of images taken at different wavelengths by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing a plume near the terminator of Jupiter at the time of the impact with the first fragment of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. The fragment, also known as fragment A, collided with the planet on July 16th 1994 at about 10:00 GMT. The plume appears at about 1000-1500km above the limb of the planet. The comet broke up into more than 20 fragments during a close encounter with Jupiter in July 1992. The energy released during the impact is equivalent to about one million hydrogen bombs.

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Size: 4488px × 4039px
Photo credit: © NASA/ESA/STScI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: astronomy, comet, cosmology, hit, hst, hubble, image, imagery, impact, jupiter, planet, planetary, science, shoemaker-levy, strike, striking