Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 comet was later observed as a series of fragments ranging up to in diameter. These fragments collided with Jupiter's southern hemisphere between July 16 and 22, 1994 at a speed of approximately (Jupiter's escape velocity) or . The prominent scars from the impacts were more easily visible than the Great Red Spot and persisted for many months. While conducting a program of observations designed to uncover near-Earth objects, the Shoemakers and Levy discovered Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 on the night of March 24, 1993 in a photograph taken with the Schmidt telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California. The comet was
Comet ISON Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams identified the object as an asteroid, and it was listed on the Near Earth Objects Confirmation Page. Follow-up observations by independent teams were the first to report cometary features. Therefore, under the International Astronomical Union's comet-naming guidelines, Comet ISON was named after the team that discovered it, rather than the individual discoverers. After it was discovered in 2012, some media sources called Comet ISON the "Comet of the Century" and speculated that it might outshine the full Moon. An "Astronomy Now" columnist wrote in September 2012 that "if predictions hold true then Comet ISON will