AstroGrav Help /Sample Simulations /Solar System /Comets /Shoemaker-Levy 9Version 5.1

Shoemaker-Levy 9

This simulation shows the well-known collision of Comet D/1993 F2 (Shoemaker-Levy 9) with the planet Jupiter.

The initial date of the simulation is 18th March 1993, which is the date when the comet was discovered. If you run the simulation forward, you can watch the fragments collide with Jupiter one-by-one between 16th July 1994 and 22nd July 1994. Because the comet moves much faster when it is closer to Jupiter, you will need to significantly reduce the evolution time step (eg to 1 hour) in order to effectively watch the fragments collide with Jupiter.

If you run the simulation backward, you can watch the very close encounter with Jupiter on 7th July 1992, which caused the original single comet to break up into the 21 fragments shown. Again, you will need to significantly reduce the evolution time step (eg to 1 hour) in order to effectively watch the close encounter with Jupiter.

You can find out more about the comet from the following website:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker–Levy_9

Since different computers run at different speeds, you may need to edit the evolution time step to get the simulation to run at an acceptable rate.