Jupiter's Inferno

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Astronomers already realize they will have to rethink some of their notions about Jupiter. The distinctive mark left by the first impacts, for example, may point to an origin for some of the mysterious, semi-permanent splotches that mar the planet's surface. "We really don't know how the Great Red Spot was formed," says Space Telescope astronomer Hal Weaver, "but it could be that impacts were somehow involved." As the death and postmortem of Comet Shoemaker-Levy unfold, that may end up being one of the least remarkable discoveries the scientists will make.

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CREDIT: Space Telescope Science Institute

CAPTION: Impact times of comet fragments