NASA’s Successful asteroid impact testIt created a beautiful mess. As the Associated Press ReportsAstronomers have used the Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope in Chile for their research. CapturedImage showing how DART’s collision of with Dimorphos created a trail that measured over 6,000 miles. The spacecraft wasn’t solely responsible — rather, the Sun’s radiation pressure pushed the material away like it would with a Comet’s tail.
According to researchers, the trail will only get bigger. The dust stream should eventually become so obscured from other particles in the Solar System that it is almost impossible to recognize. NASA didn’t cause problems for future probes and space explorers. As the space agency decided that the deliberate crash of Dimorphos, a moonlet from the asteroid Didymos, wouldn’t pose any threat to Earth, it was Dimorphos.
Capturing the event was not just about taking a photo, but also about capturing the moment in its entirety. Scientists will make use of data collected by SOAR, Astronomical Event Observatory Network (AEON) and other observers to learn more about the collision. They will determine how fast and how much material was ejected from an asteroid and whether DART produced large chunks of debris or fine dust. They will be used to help Earth understand how spacecraft can alter an object’s orbit.
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