Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Fragments
July 1

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Fragments

Observed in 1993

This image captures the brightest "nucleus" in a string of approximately 20 that comprised the broken-up comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. The image reveals that the bright segment is actually a group of at least four separate pieces.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Space Telescope