OPTICAL METHANE-BAND OBSERVATIONS OF JOVIAN SHOEMAKER-LEVY-9 IMPACT DEBRIS

During the encounter of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in July 19 94, narrow-band imaging was used to detect changes in methane opacity in the upper atmosphere resulting from the impacts. Of nine debris clo uds visible in the data, seven show clear evidence of a significant ch ange, when compared with nearby parts of the disk, in the ratio betwee n the opacity in the optical methane band and that in a near-lying par t of the continuum. Typical opacity enhancement is of the order of 30% . The result is found to be corroborated by related data from other so urces. Possible reasons for the observed effect are discussed.