Icarus, 121, 479, 1996.

Limits on Hard X-Ray Emission from the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impact on Jupiter

Rubin, B.C., G.J. Fishman, B.A. Harmon,
J.H. Waite Jr., R. Link,
S.N. Zhang, J.J. Brainerd, G.N. Pendleton
C.A. Meegan, and W.S. Paciesas

Data from the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on board the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) have been used to set upper limits on emission in the 20 - 1800 keV energy range from the collision of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter. From an impulsive event of 1 second duration we place a 4 sigma upper limit on the equivalent isotropic energy release of 5 × 10²⁰ ergs in the 20 - 50 keV energy band. The upper limit on steady emission observed during the week of the collision is 2 × 10¹⁹ erg/s (20 - 50 keV). We discuss the implications of these observations for impact effects on the Jovian atmosphere and comet-comet collision models of cosmic gamma-ray bursts.

© 1996 Academic Press

EUVE Observations of Jupiter (R. Gladstone et al.)

ROSAT Image of SL9 Collision with Jupiter (R. Gladstone, SwRI)

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