 More exciting for planetary astronomers was that the best orbital calculations suggested that the comet would pass within 45 @,@ 000 km ( 28 @,@ 000 mi ) of the center of Jupiter , a distance smaller than the planet 's radius , meaning that there was an extremely high probability that SL9 would collide with Jupiter in July 1994 . Studies suggested that the train of nuclei would plow into Jupiter 's atmosphere over a period of about five days . 
