Comet Shoemaker Hits Jupiter, A 20,000 °C Fireball Occurs

Comet Shoemaker Hits Jupiter, A 20,000 °C Fireball Occurs, And The Earth Has No Ability To Parry

In the history of the Earth, the extinction of the dinosaurs has shown humans how irreversible the asteroid's impact on the Earth will be. However, the impact of comet Shoemaker was even more shocking, proving that even the most powerful planet Jupiter cannot stop the powerful impact from outer space.

Comet Shoemaker

The full name of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 was accidentally discovered by astronomers Shoemaker and his wife in March 1993. Observations have shown that the comet has multiple cores visually, and calculations of its orbit indicate that it will collide with Jupiter soon. This rare phenomenon has attracted the attention of many astronomers, who have set up observatories and telescopes to observe this important celestial body collision event.

Fragments Of Comet Shoemaker Hit Jupiter

On the night of July 16, 1994, fragments of Comet Shoemaker hit the southern hemisphere of Jupiter at an alarming speed, forming a high-temperature fireball with a temperature as high as 20,000 degrees Celsius. Subsequently, 21 apparent impacts were observed, the largest of which occurred on the morning of July 18, forming a huge black spot more than 12,000 kilometers in diameter. These impacts released a huge amount of energy, equivalent to 600 times that of all the nuclear weapons in the human world.

The Impact Of Comets On Jupiter Has Long-term Effects On Jupiter Itself

Ammonia and carbon dioxide remained in its atmosphere for at least 14 months. The temperature on Jupiter rises momentarily but falls back quickly within a week. This impact proved to humans the vulnerability of planets to impacts. Even Jupiter, with its huge size and gravity, cannot completely block the strong impact from outer space.

Jupiter Is The "Vacuum Cleaner" In The Universe

With the ability to attract and deflect other celestial bodies and debris, it provides planets with protection from the threats of outer space. However, Jupiter's huge gravity is also a double-edged sword, which may affect the overall stability of all orbiting objects in the solar system.

Comet Shoemaker's impact on Jupiter showed us that the Earth is vulnerable to the impact of outer space. If the Earth cannot be protected by Jupiter, similar disasters may occur more frequently, and the Earth is still not fully prepared for asteroid impacts. Therefore, it is still of great significance to protect the earth from the research and prevention of impacts by celestial bodies in outer space.

While Jupiter offers some level of protection, its effects on other bodies in the solar system are unclear. In the future, scientists need to continue research and observation to better understand impact phenomena in the universe and provide more effective preventive measures for the safety and stability of the earth and the solar system.