Eugene Merle Shoemaker was an American geologist. He co-discovered Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with his wife Carolyn S. Shoemaker and David H. Levy. This comet hit Jupiter in July 1994: the impact was televised around the world. Shoemaker also studied terrestrial craters, such as Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona, and along with Edward Chao provided the first conclusive evidence of its origin as an impact crater. He was also the first director of the United States Geological Survey's Astrogeology Research Program.
Eugene Merle Shoemaker
Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker, 1994
Eugene Shoemaker wearing a Bell Rocket Belt while training astronauts.
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects. This generated a large amount of coverage in the popular media, and the comet was closely observed by astronomers worldwide. The collision provided new information about Jupiter and highlighted its possible role in reducing space debris in the inner Solar System.
Hubble Space Telescope images of a fireball from the first impact appearing over the limb of the planet
Brown spots mark impact sites on Jupiter's southern hemisphere
A sequence of Galileo images, taken several seconds apart, showing the appearance of the fireball of fragment W on the dark side of Jupiter
