Gene Shoemaker. Portrait of US comet discoverer and planetary scientist, Eugene Shoemaker (1928- 1997). In collaboration with David Levy, Eugene Shoemaker and his wife Carolyn discovered comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1993. The comet collided with Jupiter in June 1994. As a husband and wife team, the Shoemaker's were engaged in a systematic survey of asteroids and comets, becoming the most successful comet finders of the 20th century.