Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Jupiter - IAU Colloquium 156

The spectacular collision of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in July 1994 was a unique event in the history of observational astronomy. With a year's advance warning, astronomers and planetary scientists around the world were able to co-ordinate an observing campaign to track the event in unprecedented detail. A year after the event, a workshop at the Space Telescope Science Institute provided the first opportunity for them to bring together their observations and found a new understanding of the impact. Based on this meeting, sixteen invited reviews from authors selected as international leaders in the study of the impact and its aftermath are presented in this volume. The chapters have been edited and arranged to provide a thorough and comprehensive overview of our knowledge of the event. While our understanding of the impact will evolve with future work, this book provides a solid foundation for new insights that will follow. It will be a standard reference for graduate students and researchers in astronomy and planetary science.Table of ContentParticipants; Preface; 1. The orbital motion and impact circumstances of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Paul W. Chodas and Donald K. Yeomans; 2. Observational constraints on the composition and nature of Comet D/Shoemaker-Levy 9 Jacques Crovisier; 3. Tidal breakup of the nucleus of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Zdenek Sekanina; 4. Earth-based observations of impact phenomena Philip D. Nicholson; 5. HST imaging of Jupiter shortly after each impact: plumes and fresh sites Heidi B. Hammel; 6. Galileo observations of the impacts Clark R. Chapman; 7. Models of fragment penetration and fireball evolution David A. Crawford; 8. Entry and fireball models vs. observations: what have we learned? Mordecai-Mark Mac Low; 9. Dynamics and chemistry of SL9 plumes Kevin Zahnle; 10. Chemistry induced by the impacts: observations Emmanuel Lellouch; 11. SL9 impact chemistry: long-term photochemical evolution Julianne I. Moses; 12. Particulate matter in Jupiter's atmosphere from the impacts of Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 Robert A. West; 13. Jupiter's post-impact atmospheric thermal response Barney J. Conrath; 14. Growth and dispersion of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact features from HST imaging Reta F. Beebe; 15. Waves from the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts Andrew P. Ingersoll and Hiroo Kanamori; 16. Jovian magnetospheric and auroral effects of the SL9 impacts Wing-Huen Ip.Sixteen chapters from international experts provide the standard reference on the event for graduate students and researchers in astronomy and planetary science.