Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 A of the nucleus entered Jupiter's southern hemisphere at a speed of about . Instruments on "Galileo" detected a fireball that reached a peak temperature of about , compared to the typical Jovian cloudtop temperature of about , before expanding and cooling rapidly to about after 40 seconds. The plume from the fireball quickly reached a height of over . A few minutes after the impact fireball was detected, "Galileo" measured renewed heating, probably due to ejected material falling back onto the planet. Earth-based observers detected the fireball rising over the limb of the planet shortly after the initial impact.
Carolyn S. Shoemaker Carolyn S. Shoemaker Carolyn Jean Spellmann Shoemaker (born June 24, 1929) is an American astronomer and is a co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9. She once held the record for most comets discovered by an individual. Carolyn Jean Spellmann was born in Gallup, New Mexico, United States. to Leonard and Hazel Arthur Spellmann. Her family moved to Chico, California, where she and her brother Richard grew up. Carolyn Spellmann earned bachelor's and master's degrees in history, political science, and English literature from Chico State University. Richard went to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he earned a bachelor's degree in