Shoemaker-Levy 9

British  

/ ˈʃuːˌmeɪkə liːvaɪ /

noun

1. a comet that was captured into an orbit around Jupiter and later broke up, the fragments colliding with Jupiter in July 1995

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Etymology

Origin of Shoemaker-Levy 9

C20: after Carolyn Shoemaker (born 1929), Eugene Shoemaker (1928–97), and David Levy (born 1948), US astronomers, who discovered the orbiting fragments

Example Sentences

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

From Science Magazine

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

From Scientific American

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.

From Scientific American

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.

From Scientific American

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

From Literature