Comet Shoemaker-Levy impact on Jupiter, July 1994. Artist's impression of fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 approaching and striking the planet Jupiter. Fragments of the comet are seen in the foreground, outgassing in the solar wind. Gas of different colours is produced by different elements in the cometary fragments. On the planet is a large explosion as one fragment disintegrates in Jupiter's atmosphere. Over 20 fragments, each of more than 1 km diameter, are expected to hit the planet on 18-24 July 1994. The comet was broken apart by Jupiter's gravity field during a close encounter in July 1992. The impacts will not be visible directly from Earth.