Eugene Merle Shoemaker (nonfiction)

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Eugene Merle Shoemaker. United States Geological Survey photo.

Eugene Merle Shoemaker (April 28, 1928 – July 18, 1997), also known as Gene Shoemaker, was an American geologist and one of the founders of the field of planetary science.

He is best known for co-discovering the Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with his wife Carolyn S. Shoemaker and David H. Levy. This comet hit Jupiter in July 1994: the impact was televised around the world.

Shoemaker was also well-known for his studies of terrestrial craters, such as Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona. Shoemaker was the first scientist to conclude that these craters were caused by meteor impact.

Shoemaker was also the first director of the United States Geological Survey's Astrogeology Research Program.

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