Shoemaker-Levy 9

She will study Jupiter’s thin ring, which may still be rippling in the wake of the 1994 impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.

The best-known impact at Jupiter was that of the 19 fragments of a comet called Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1994.

Even as the pieces of Shoemaker-Levy 9 reshaped the astronomy community, they also left their mark on Jupiter itself, leaving in its clouds a dark splotch larger than Earth that was visible for months.

Shoemaker-Levy 9 is still the most dramatic impact scientists have seen at Jupiter, and one of very few that left observable traces within a few hours of the collision.

Shoemaker-Levy 9 had been orbiting Jupiter in a fairly conspicuous manner since 1929, but it took over half a century before anyone noticed.