VENTURA : Talk Set on Comet Due to Hit Jupiter

A scientist from Jet Propulsion Laboratory will give a free talk at Ventura College today on the predicted collision later this year of a large comet with Jupiter.

Comet Shoemaker-Levy was identified a year ago and is expected to hit Jupiter in July, college officials said. At the forum, scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in the college theater, Paul Weissman will discuss the predicted resulting blast and what astronomers will look for.

Weissman will show pictures of the comet and describe how it came into being, said David Doreo, an associate professor in physics and astronomy.

As a scientist at Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Pasadena offices, Weissman has done considerable research into the origin and evolution of comets in the solar system.