During July 1994 the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter in a spectacula

Question

During July 1994 the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter in a spectacular fashion. The comet actually consisted of 21 distinct pieces, the largest of which had a mass of approximately 4.0 x 1012 kg and a speed of 6.0 x 104 m/s. Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, has a mass of 1.9 x 1027 kg and an orbital speed of 1.3 x 104 m/s. If this piece of the comet had hit Jupiter head-on, what would have been the change (magnitude only) in Jupiter's orbital speed (not its final speed)?

Explanation / Answer

Using conservation of momentum principles, dVj = dPs/(Mj+Ms) = 4E12*6E4/(1.9E27+4E12) = 1.26E-10 m/s PLEASE RATE.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse D
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.