Cambridge University Press Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9: IAU Colloquium 156 (Space Telescope Science Institute Symposium Series, Series Number 9)

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.