 The discovery that the comet was likely to collide with Jupiter caused great excitement within the astronomical community and beyond , as astronomers had never before seen two significant Solar System bodies collide . Intense studies of the comet were undertaken , and as its orbit became more accurately established , the possibility of a collision became a certainty . The collision would provide a unique opportunity for scientists to look inside Jupiter 's atmosphere , as the collisions were expected to cause eruptions of material from the layers normally hidden beneath the clouds . 
