THE EVOLUTION OF DEBRIS FROM COMET-D SHOEMAKER-LEVY-9 ON JUPITER

We present low-resolution photometric spectra in the wavelength range 407-907 mu m of impact sites G, H, E, C, K, L, Q1, and W plus K togeth er, arising from the collision of Comet D/Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupite r, The spectra were obtained from narrow band CCD images taken between July 15th and July 22nd using the 1-m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope on La Palma, Our results indicate the impact debris to have low overall opt ical depths (tau < 1) which decrease with increasing wavelength for al l individual sites observed. Our results also imply that mass absorpti on of sunlight is the dominant process occurring in the impact debris and that a decrease in optical depth with time is due to the material dissipating in the jovian atmosphere. (C) 1998 Academic Press.