Shoemaker-levy 9 Impact Modeling: High-resolution 3d Bolides

Details Shoemaker-levy 9 Impact Modeling: High-resolution 3d Bolides Shoemaker-levy 9 Impact Modeling: High-resolution 3d Bolides

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.3909k&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #39.09; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.555

Other

Scientific paper

We have run high-resolution, three-dimensional, hydrodynamic simulations of the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 into the atmosphere of Jupiter. The energy deposition profile is similar to two-dimensional calculations by Mac Low and Zahnle (1994). There is considerable sensitivity in the results to small changes in the initial conditions, indicating dynamical chaos. The median depth of energy deposition among runs is ≈70; ±14 km below the 1-bar level, for a 1-km diameter impactor of porous ice of density ρ=0.6 g cm-3. We find little evidence of a trend in these results with the resolution of the calculations (up to 57 cells across the impactor, or 8.8-m resolution), suggesting that resolutions as low as 16 grid cells across the radius yield good results for this particular quantity. Visualization of the bolide breakup shows that the ice impactors were shredded and compressed in a complicated manner but evidently did not fragment into separate, coherent masses, unlike calculations for a basalt impactor. The processes that destroy the impactor take place at significantly shallower levels in the atmosphere (≈-40 km for a 1-km diameter bolide) but the shredded remains have enough inertia to carry them down another scale height or more before losing kinetic energy. Comparion of calculations of basalt impactors shows that energy deposition curves for basalt objects have much less sensitivity to initial conditions than ice ones, reflecting differences in the equation of state for the different kinds of objects. Models of impactors covering a ≈600-fold range of mass show that larger impactors descend slightly deeper than expected from scaling the intercepted atmospheric column mass by the impactor mass. Instead, the intercepted column mass scales as m1.2. This material is based upon work supported by National Science Foundation Grant No. 0307638.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Shoemaker-levy 9 Impact Modeling: High-resolution 3d Bolides does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Shoemaker-levy 9 Impact Modeling: High-resolution 3d Bolides, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Shoemaker-levy 9 Impact Modeling: High-resolution 3d Bolides will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1000730