HST SPECTROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS OF JUPITER AFTER THE COLLISION OF COMET SHOEMAKER-LEVY-9

Ultraviolet spectra obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope identifie d at least 10 molecules and atoms in the perturbed stratosphere near t he G impact site, most never before observed in Jupiter. The large mas s of sulfur-containing material, more than 10(14) grams in S-2 alone, indicates that many of the sulfur-containing molecules S-2, CS2, CS, H 2S, and S+ may be derived from a sulfur-bearing parent molecule native to Jupiter. If so, the fragment must have penetrated at least as deep as the predicted NH4SH cloud at a pressure of approximately 1 to 2 ba rs, Stratospheric NH3 was also observed, which is consistent with frag ment penetration below the cloud tops. Approximately 10(7) grams of ne utral and ionized metals were observed in emission, including Mg II, M g I, Si I, Fe I, and Fe II. Oxygen-containing molecules were conspicuo us by their absence; upper limits for SO2, SO, CO, SiO, and H2O are de rived,