Comets · 3
Planetary-Defense Comets
Comets relevant to impact studies — the Jupiter impactor Shoemaker–Levy 9 and the Mars close-approacher Siding Spring.
- Schwassmann–Wachmann 373P/Schwassmann–Wachmann
A Jupiter-family comet that began fragmenting in 1995 and has since broken into dozens of pieces — a rare chance to watch a comet disintegrate over successive returns.
TypeJupiter-family cometPeriod5.4 yrDiscovered1930 - Shoemaker–Levy 9D/1993
A comet captured into orbit around Jupiter that was torn into more than 20 fragments by tidal forces and spectacularly impacted the planet in July 1994 — the first collision of Solar System bodies ever observed.
TypeJupiter-family comet (destroyed)Discovered1993 - Siding SpringC/2013
A long-period comet that made an exceptionally close pass of Mars in October 2014, observed up close by the fleet of Mars orbiters and rovers.
TypeLong-period cometDiscovered2013