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How did Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 break into separate pieces?
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Comet
Comet McNaught with filamentary tail and the Moon over the Pacific Ocean, photographed from Paranal Observatory, Chile, January 2007.
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke into separate pieces due to the intense gravitational influence of Jupiter. On July 8, 1992, the comet passed approximately 22,100 km (13,800 miles) above the cloud tops of the planet.1
At this close proximity, the comet crossed within Jupiter's Roche limit, the distance at which the tidal forces exerted by a primary body overcome the internal gravity holding a satellite together. These powerful tidal forces shattered the comet's original nucleusāestimated to be about 1.6 km (1 mile) in diameterāinto at least 21 distinct fragments. These pieces subsequently followed a highly eccentric orbit around Jupiter before ultimately impacting the planet's atmosphere in July 1994.1234