Shoemaker-Levy 9 Comet Impact Briefing

A press conference held on July 21, 1994, about the impact of some of the fragments from Comet Shoemaker Levy is presented. The press conference opened with a still of Jupiter, showing the impact site of several fragments. The following people were on the panel: (1) Hal Weaver, from the Space Telescope Science Institute, (2) Rita Beebe from New Mexico State University, (3) Lucy McFadden from the University of California and the University of Maryland, (4) David Levy, the co-discoverer of the Shoemaker-Levy comet. The moderator was Eugene Shoemaker. The discussion was about the impact of the fragments on Jupiter. There were 21 pieces that were counted from earlier observations. There was some discussion about the further fragmentation of Q into two pieces. There was also some discussion about the impact on the planet of several fragments. These were due to hit ten hours apart on about the same spot. There were reports from the observatories around the world, including a tape from the Lowell Observatory, a summary of the views from the Galileo orbiter, a video of the impacts from the G fragment, and views of the results from the impact of the C and G fragments as viewed from Australia.