EYES ON JUPITER: An Amateur Observer's Encounter with Shoemaker-Levy 9 'What happens when a comet breaks into 20 pieces...and then crashes into a planet?' This graphic is a composite of two Hubble Space Telescope images, one showing the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 'String of Pearls' of Comet fragments approaching Jupiter, and the other showing the marks on Jupiter from the Fragment G impact.
It happened twenty-five years ago, during the week of July 16-22, 1994, when a chain of 20 or so fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter over the course of seven days, with Earth-sized consequences.

The show it put on for astronomers and scientists exceeded their wildest expectations, producing amazing images, mind-boggling statistics, an explosion of new scientific data, and cherished memories for professional and amateur astronomers alike who were able to see its effects firsthand.

Join Carol on her journey of suspense and discovery during that magical week, as she races against time to buy and learn how to use a telescope, follows the scientific mystery-drama unfolding daily in the televised NASA press briefings, and eventually scores an opportunity to witness the comet's effects on Jupiter with her very own eyes, in the company of a select group of amateur astronomers at the Naval Observatory in Washington...

But will it stop raining in time for them to see anything?

READ WHAT HAPPENS


TEN COOL THINGS YOU WILL FIND ON THIS WEBSITE:

  1. NASA images from the week of the comet impacts (most can be clicked on to view detailed information and a larger image)

  2. Scientists and astronomers caught up in the excitement of capturing astonishing images and making new discoveries

  3. (spoiler alert) Amateur and professional astronomers thrilled that even backyard astronomers could see spots on Jupiter!

  4. Never-before available digitized videos of the 8 a.m. NASA briefings for July 18 and 19, 1994

  5. The first-ever complete set of links to online videos of ALL of the NASA briefings from the week of the comet impacts

  6. A visit to the Planetary Society's Jupiter Watch event at the U.S. Naval Observatory

  7. Amusing anecdotes and (hopefully) some helpful information from Carol's attempts to buy and use a telescope

  8. Select video clips from the NASA briefings

  9. Lots of amazing facts about Jupiter!

  10. A journey through a truly magical week that will make you want to go out and look through a telescope tonight!

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eyesonjupiter.com

© 2019 by Carol Connolly Engle