The waves caused by the impact of Shoemaker-Levy 9 on jupiter

During the period 18–24 July 1994, over 20 fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter. Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope bring to light the dynamic responses of Jupiterʹs atmosphere to the impact. Of consequence are the observed circular rings surrounding five of the impact sites and spreading outward at a constant velocity of 450 m/s. The circularity of the rings suggested that they are waves. Because the wave speed appears to be constant for impacts of varying sizes, it is inferred that the propagation velocity is independent of the explosion energy, which implies linear waves. We review the three types of impact-induced waves used in current theories, namely, inertia-gravity waves, acoustic waves and seismic waves, with emphasis on the first two.