Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 chains on the Jovian moons did not lead back to a larger crater. The impact of SL9 strongly implied that the chains were due to trains of disrupted cometary fragments crashing into the satellites. On July 19, 2009, exactly 15 years after the SL9 impacts, a new black spot about the size of the Pacific Ocean appeared in Jupiter's southern hemisphere. Thermal infrared measurements showed the impact site was warm and spectroscopic analysis detected the production of excess hot ammonia and silica-rich dust in the upper regions of Jupiter's atmosphere. Scientists have concluded that another impact event had occurred, but
Comet Hale–Bopp and it was visible to the naked eye for twice as long as the previous record-holder. It was also brighter than magnitude 0 for eight weeks, longer than any other recorded comet. Gene Shoemaker and his wife Carolyn, both famous for co-discovering comet Shoemaker–Levy 9, were involved in a car crash after photographing the comet. Gene died in the crash and his ashes were sent to the Moon aboard NASA's "Lunar Prospector" mission along with an image of Hale–Bopp, "the last comet that the Shoemakers observed together". Comet Hale–Bopp Comet Hale–Bopp (formally designated C/1995 O1) is a comet that was