Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9/Jupiter collision. Infrared image showing the fireball created as Fragment K of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 hit Jupiter at 10:18 GMT on 18 July 1994. This image, taken at 10:31 GMT, was made using the 2.3 metre telescope at the Mt. Stromlo Observatory, Australia. At the time of the exposure, the fireball had grown to over 20,000km diameter, and was bright enough to create diffraction spikes ('starburst') in the telescope. Earlier impact sites are seen to the right of the fireball as glowing spots. More than 20 major fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 hit Jupiter over 16-22 July 1994.