The Great Comet Crash: The Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Jupiter

Spencer, John R.; Mitton, Jacqueline

ISBN 10: 0521482747 / ISBN 13: 9780521482745

Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1995

About this Item

11 1/8? x 8 3/4", x, 118 pages, well illustrated in black and white and colour, glossary and abbreviations. The Great Comet Crash is a record of the spectacular collision between Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and the giant planet Jupiter in July 1994. Researchers who were involved in all aspects of observing and interpreting the encounter give personal narratives of the events, from the discovery of the comet through to the dramatic effects on the appearance of Jupiter in the hours, days and months after the collision. The chapters are all by distinguished researchers who personally participated in the international teams who recorded the events. The book is illustrated in colour throughout by the very best images selected from professional observatories around the world. The Great Comet Crash is the definitive illustrated account by professional astronomers of the collision and its consequences. Hb in dw, virtually as new.

Seller Inventory # 007187

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Great Comet Crash: The Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Jupiter
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521482747
• ISBN 13: 9780521482745
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: As New

About this title

Synopsis

The drama of the crash of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter is captured in words and photographs from the scientists who witnessed this unique event. With interpretations from top researchers and the best photographs from observatories around the world, this is a complete record of the greatest crash ever seen in the Solar System. See Worldwide Web http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk/Comet/Comettop.html

Reviews

We've already heard about the discovery and spectacular demise of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 from David Levy himself in Impact Jupiter ; now we get the story from a multiplicity of perspectives, including that of Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker. The Shoemakers and the eight other astronomers featured in this large-format, generously illustrated volume chronicle the discovery of the comet; the careful tracking of its relentless, kamikaze trajectory toward Jupiter; the crash of each fragment of this so-called String of Pearls comet; and the effect these tremendous collisions had on the giant red planet. The crash of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 was an unprecedented event, both in terms of the uniqueness of the comet itself and in our ability to transmit images of its swan song to millions of TV viewers and computer users. In the final chapters of this informative overview, astronomers H. Jay Melosh and Clark R. Chapman assess the unanswered questions left in the wake of this celestial event and try to imagine what would happen if such a comet struck the earth. Donna Seaman