Thirty-two Years Later: How Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Collided with Jupiter and Changed Our View of the Solar SystemIn July 1994, humanity witnessed the first direct collision of a celestial body with a major planet. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (D/1993 F2) broke into dozens of fragments and slammed into Jupiter’s atmosphere. As of 2026, thirty-two years have passed since that historic week — an event that remains one of the most spectacular and scientifically valuable in the history of planetary astrono