Knowledge Bank

During 16-22 July, 1994 the fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy-9 plunged into Jupiter's atmosphere at $45\circ S$ latitude. We monitored the $3.53\mu m$ region where, in less cataclysmic times, only $H3\ast$ emission, primarily from the $\nu 2\to 0$ fundamental band, has been observed. Numerous tetrahedral fine structure lines of the P(18) and P(19) transitions of the $\nu 3\to 0$ band of $CH4$ along with a plethora of other, as yet unidentified, transient emission lines were observed during the hour following the Fragment C impact. The observed rapid time-variation of the spectral lines, linewidths and the Doppler shifts will be discussed. Also, several days after the last fragment impact, a single $CH4$ line was observed at Jupiter's south limb. Observations were made with the CGS4 spectrometer at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.