I believe they saw the comet/asteroid BEFORE it hit Jupiter. It was named after them. And then EVERYONE got to watch it slam into Jupiter. (Well, all of the pieces of it).
Oh - found it. And it sounds like they were more than just casual observers - but not full-fledged “scientists” either.
“Shoemaker-Levy 9 was first spotted in March 1993 by three veteran comet discoverers: Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker, and David Levy. The group had collaborated several times before and discovered several other comets before this one, which is why this comet was called Shoemaker-Levy 9.”
If that thing had hit us, well it would have been lights out permanently. Jupiter did it’s job and took one for the team.
No, that was a different event with Shoemaker Levy.
This an amateur Australian astronomer by the name of Anthony Wesley and he only saw it post impact.