A schematic diagram of NASA’s binary asteroid steering test spacecraft crashing into an asteroid called Dimorphos, thereby changing its orbit. (NASA)
[The Epoch Times, March 06, 2024](Reported by Epoch Times reporter Linda) The latest research has found that the shape of the asteroid Dimorphos, which was hit by NASA’s DART spacecraft, has changed and it is currently “healing.”
In September 2022, NASA crashed its Double Asteroid Steering Test (DART) spacecraft into the asteroid, called Dimorphos, in a landmark test to avoid dangerous space rocks from hitting the Earth. .
The collision was powerful enough to knock Dimorphos out of orbit. This impact released large amounts of dust and loose rock, as shown in spectacular images captured by NASA’s Hubble and Webb space telescopes.
Now, new research modeling space rocks suggests that Dimorphos may be changing its shape after a powerful impact, or even “healing,” as ScienceAlert reports.
Published in “Nature·AstronomyA new paper in the journal Nature Astronomy suggests that the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hera mission to the impact site “may discover a reshaped asteroid rather than a clear crater.”
The simulation supports the theory that the asteroid is nothing more than a pile of rubble, formed from loose rocks shed by Didymos, the larger twin of the binary system in which Dimorphos resides, which could pose a threat to future asteroid impacts. Steering tasks have a significant impact.
A team led by planetary scientist Sabina Raducan of the University of Bern in Switzerland simulated Dimorphos and DART to understand the impact of collisions on space rocks.
According to the study, the impact left a huge mark on what is believed to be a “rubble pile.”
“Our simulations show that the DART impact caused global deformation and surface remodeling of Dimorphos,” the paper reads.
Researchers believe that Dimorphos formed by accreting fine particles from its larger asteroid Didymos over “a period of days to years,” which could mean that other similar asteroid moons could “easily re-enter.” plastic” and its surface is “relatively young”.
The researchers wrote in the paper: “Overall, the research results provide valuable information for understanding the formation and characteristics of binary asteroid systems, and provide information for exploring asteroid deflection work.” ◇#
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