Abstract
Filtergrams of high spatial and temporal resolution were obtained in the methane band centred at 892 nm during the impact of fragment L of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter. The light curve shows two maxima of an emission ball observed above the limb shortly after the impact. The second maximum was the brightest and had a short life time of about 90 seconds. During it's life, the apparent height of the emission ball declined towards the surface of Jupiter; the amount of displacement is larger than the expected effect caused by Jupiter's rotation. About half an hour after the impact, a domelike feature became visible when the location of the impact rotated into the illuminated hemisphere of Jupiter.
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Schleicher, H., Balthasar, H., Knölker, M. et al. The impact of fragment “L” of comet SL-9 on Jupiter. Earth Moon Planet 66, 13–17 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00612880
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00612880