Distance between Swift-Tuttle comet and Kiuchi (earth): approximately 1,018,800,000 km.
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Observation materials. The stars of the southern hemisphere. The night gives way to dawn. |
July 16-20, 1994 While in Australia, Kiuchi observes a comet crashing into Jupiter.
"That was the first time a human has ever witnessed the crashing of one heavenly body into another. It was the perfect opportunity to gain an understanding of what might happen if a comet crashed into Earth. With that in mind, I traveled to Australia, where observation conditions are excellent." "I reached a conclusion upon witnessing numerous falling stars. I had a CCD camera at the time, but the naked eye is most trustworthy. Then a lump, or ball of light appeared from behind Jupiter, assuming maximum size after about five minutes. It seemed to be bigger than Earth. It was amazing." |