Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 its orbit became more accurately established, the possibility of a collision became a certainty. The collision would provide a unique opportunity for scientists to look inside Jupiter's atmosphere, as the collisions were expected to cause eruptions of material from the layers normally hidden beneath the clouds. Astronomers estimated that the visible fragments of SL9 ranged in size from a few hundred metres (around ) to across, suggesting that the original comet may have had a nucleus up to across—somewhat larger than Comet Hyakutake, which became very bright when it passed close to the Earth in 1996. One of the great
The Elves and the Shoemaker cartoon short "Holiday for Shoestrings". In the "Due South" episode, "The Deal", Det. Ray Vecchio vaguely recollects this story when discussing a poor cobbler with his partner, Constable Fraser. In "", a spinoff miniseries of the Vertigo comic-book series "Fables", the shoemaker appears as an employee in Cinderella's shoe store, while the elves are the builders and suppliers of the store's inventory. "Muppet Classic Theater" had a version where a shoemaker (played by Kermit the Frog) faces ruin until his livelihood is saved by a group of philanthropic entertainers (played by The Elvises) who, naturally, make only blue suede shoes.