Is it true that a comet will collide with Jupiter in July 1994?
Yes, the shattered comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 will collide with Jupiter over a 5.6 day period in July 1994. The first of 21 comet fragments is expected to hit Jupiter on July 16, 1994 and the last on July 22, 1994. The 21 major fragments are denoted A through W in order of impact, with letters I and O not used. All of the comet fragments will hit on the dark farside of Jupiter. The probability that all of the comet fragments will hit Jupiter is greater that 99.9%. The probability that any fragment will impact on the near side as viewed from the Earth is less than 0.01%. The impact of the center of the comet train is predicted to occur at a Jupiter latitude of about -44 degrees at a point about 67 degrees east (toward the sunrise terminator) from the midnight meridian. These impact point estimates from Chodas and Yeomans are only 5 to 9 degrees behind the limb of Jupiter as seen from Earth. About 8 to 18 minutes after each fragment hits, the impact points will rotate past the limb. After th
