After the Jupiter Watch, Carol figured out how to stabilize
her spotting scope so that she could focus it at all magnifications. Through
it, she has observed Jupiter and its Galilean satellites, the moon and Venus in
various phases, the rings of Saturn, some double stars and a nebula. She dreams
of owning an eight- or ten-inch telescope someday.
The last known fragment of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 plunged
into Jupiter's atmosphere on Friday, July 22, 1994. A final NASA briefing was
held on Saturday morning. All of the panelists, the co-discoverers, and the
Hubble Space Telescope Team were there. We said goodbye to the comet, the
panelists, the NASA team, and the reporters, many of whom seemed like old
friends by then.
Most of the questions raised during the Shoemaker-Levy 9
comet impacts remained largely unanswered at week's end. Scientists and
astronomers around the globe continued to analyze the unprecedented deluge of
data that poured in that week and would continue to stream in during the weeks
and months to come, including data from the Galileo telescope that was still on
its way to Jupiter.
And astronomers everywhere continued to look toward the
sky.
