At the time of the exposure, the comet was about 11 million kilometres from the planet, and the rate of motion was gradually accelerating because of the increasing gravitational pull from Jupiter. The dust from the fragments is all on the Northern side of the train.
North is up and East is to the left.
It may be reproduced, if credit is given to the European Southern Observatory. This is an aerial view of the ESO La Silla observatory in the Chilean Atacama desert, from where the collision between comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and giant planet Jupiter will be intensively observed with many telescopes. The photo shows the high mountains of the Andean Cordillera in the background. The long building further down the mountain houses, among others, the administrative offices, the astronomical library and extensive computer facilities. La Silla is connected to the outer world by means of the Chilean microwave link of which an antenna tower is seen to the right.