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
Naming of comets the past, when multiple comets were discovered by the same individual, group of individuals, or team, the comets' names were distinguished by adding a numeral to the discoverers' names (but only for periodic comets); thus Comets Shoemaker–Levy 1 to 9 (discovered by Carolyn Shoemaker, Eugene Shoemaker & David Levy). Today, the large numbers of comets discovered by some instruments makes this system impractical, and no attempt is made to ensure that each comet is given a unique name. Instead, the comets' systematic designations are used to avoid confusion. Until 1994, comets were first given a provisional designation consisting of the