Gene Shoemaker

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Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

Ultraviolet image of Jupiter showing the impact of Shoemaker-Levy 9, July 21, 1994.

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Galaxy clusters like Abell 2744 can act as a natural cosmic lens, magnifying light from more distant, background objects through gravity. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope may be able to detect light from the first stars in the universe if they are gravitationally lensed by such clusters. (astronomy, space exploration, galaxies)

How Fast Is the Universe Expanding?

Planet Earth and lunar moon from space

Where Did the Moon Come From?

solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space

How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?

Arrangement of the phases of the moon in total eclipse with Blood Moon

9 Celestial Omens

1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.

6 Questions About the Sun Answered

Discover

earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.

The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950

Young man skeet shooting with airborne shell

6 Unusual Olympic Sports

Fish. Lionfish. Lion-fish. Turkey fish. Fire-fish. Red lionfish. Pterois volitans. Venomous fin spines. Coral reefs. Underwater. Ocean. Red lionfish swims by seaweed.

10 of the World’s Most Dangerous Fish

winter ice melting salt on the ground, pattern as background

Why Does Salt Melt Ice?

bird. mourning dove. pigeon and dove. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) family Columbidae.

Nikola Tesla's Weird Obsession with Pigeons

Parsons Weems' Fable, oil on canvas by Grant Wood, 1939; in the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Catalog entry: The historian Mason Locke Weems, commonly known by his clerical title, Parson Weems, pulls back a curtain to point at 6-year-old George Washington. Bearing an adult head and holding an axe, George gazes blankly up at his father, Augustine, who questions his son while holding a partially cut cherry tree. All of this takes place in front of a 20th-century brick building, which Wood modeled after his own home in Iowa. The scene illustrates the fable of Washington and the cherry tree, which Weems invented in 1806 for the first president's biography. Wood playfully suggests the artifice of the tale here, presenting the story in the manner of a costumed stage play rather than a real event. Amid the action, two Black figures pick cherries in the background, a reference to Washington' slaveholding past and a reminder of of what often gets left out in historical mythmaking.

Did George Washington Really Say, “I Can’t Tell a Lie”?

Binary Computer Code, Binary Code, Internet, Technology, Password, Data

How Does Wi-Fi Work?

Gene Shoemaker: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	Eugene Merle Shoemaker
Born	April 28, 1928 • Los Angeles • California
Died	July 18, 1997 (aged 69) • Alice Springs • Australia
Awards And Honors	National Medal of Science (1992)
Notable Family Members	spouse Carolyn Shoemaker
Subjects Of Study	Carolyn Shoemaker • David H. Levy • comet • Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

Photos

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

Ultraviolet image of Jupiter showing the impact of Shoemaker-Levy 9, July 21, 1994.

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Carolyn Shoemaker

American astronomer

David H. Levy

Canadian astronomer and science writer

Fred L. Whipple

American astronomer

Maria Mitchell

Maria Mitchell

American astronomer

Harrison Schmitt

Harrison Schmitt

American astronaut and politician

Vera Rubin

Vera Rubin

American astronomer

Edmond Halley

Edmond Halley

British scientist

Maria Kirch

German astronomer

Olbers, detail from an engraving

Wilhelm Olbers

German astronomer

Peter Naur

Danish astronomer and computer scientist

Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli

Italian astronomer

Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard Bochart de Saron

French scientist

John Michell

British geologist and astronomer

John Bainbridge

English astronomer

Pierre Mechain

French scientist

Giovanni Battista Donati

Italian astronomer

Alexis Bouvard

French astronomer

Wilhelm, Freiherr von Biela

Austrian astronomer

Alvan Graham Clark

American astronomer

Amos Eaton

American botanist, geologist, and lawyer

Quiz

Michael Faraday (L) English physicist and chemist (electromagnetism) and John Frederic Daniell (R) British chemist and meteorologist who invented the Daniell cell.

Faces of Science

Cross section of Earth showing the core, mantle, and crust

Everything Earth

View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).

Astronomy and Space Quiz

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy

Michael Faraday (L) English physicist and chemist (electromagnetism) and John Frederic Daniell (R) British chemist and meteorologist who invented the Daniell cell.

Faces of Science