Question

In 1994, the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 broke apart and collided with Jupiter. The comet was discovered using a ground-based telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California.


2. What type of instrument do you think captured this detailed image of the comet breaking into pieces and colliding with Jupiter?


A.
a space telescope

B.
a space station

C.
a rover

Answer 1

A. a space telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope (and some large ground-based telescopes) took the detailed images of Shoemaker–Levy 9 breaking up and its impacts on Jupiter. A space station or rover would not be used for that kind of deep-space planetary imaging.