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Numerical simulations of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact plumes and clouds: A progress report

Eugene Merle Shoemaker·Paul J. Hassig·David J. Roddy
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Abstract

Preliminary 2D/3D numerical simulations were carried out for the penetration of 1-km bodies in the Jovian atmosphere and the subsequent rise and collapse of the erupted plumes. A body that crushed at a stagnation point pressure of 5 kbar produced a plume that rose to 800 km. Evolution of the shape of the calculated plume corresponds rather well to the plumes observed by HST. A crescent-shaped lobe centered on the “backfire” azimuth was produced by lateral flow during plume collapse. The plumes observed on Jupiter rose about 4 times higher, and their rise and fall times were about twice those in this calculation. Plume height is a sensitive function of the distribution of energy along the entry path; a very low-strength body will disintegrate higher along the penetration path and will produce a higher plume.

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Eugene Merle Shoemaker, Paul J. Hassig, David J. Roddy. 2012-12-07. Numerical simulations of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact plumes and clouds: A progress report. https://doi.org/10.1029/95gl01775

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