The impact of fragment “L” of comet SL-9 on Jupiter

Filtergrams of high spatial and temporal resolution were obtained in the methane band centred at 892 nm during the impact of fragment L of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter. The light curve shows two maxima of an emission ball observed above the limb shortly after the impact. The second maximum was the brightest and had a short life time of about 90 seconds. During it's life, the apparent height of the emission ball declined towards the surface of Jupiter; the amount of displacement is larger than the expected effect caused by Jupiter's rotation. About half an hour after the impact, a domelike feature became visible when the location of the impact rotated into the illuminated hemisphere of Jupiter.