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The collision between the DART spacecraft and the asteroid Dimorphos created debris in space up to 10,000 km. Photo / Ist / Newsscience
Quoted by SINDOnews from the journalist’s page, Tuesday (4/10/2022), the debris from the collision of the DART spacecraft with the asteroid Dimorphos was captured in this photo, two days after the collision. The impact of the impact was photographed by astronomers using the Southern Astrophysics Research Telescope in Chile.
The image shows that after the collision between the DART probe and the 170-meter-diameter Dimorphos asteroid, the resulting debris flows out. Debris along the 10,000 km in the form of lumps of dust and stones.
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Images taken immediately after the collision show a large cloud of dust surrounding Dimorphos. Over the next few days, most of the cloud stretched into a tail behind the asteroid.
This occurs through the same process as the formation of a comet’s tail, in which solar radiation pushes the material in a stream behind the main body of the object. Observing the debris left by the impact will tell astronomers about the internal structure of Dimorphos.
This study will be instrumental in designing future missions to deflect the asteroid, as it is one of the main factors determining how the impact changes the rock’s trajectory. A rock with a strong interior and structure is more likely to be deflected, not crushed.
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Once the debris cloud is gone, the researchers will also be able to examine the new surface left after the impact on the asteroid Dimorphos. The European Space Agency plans to launch a spacecraft called Hera in 2024 to closely examine the impact of the impact.
Other observations will also be made using telescopes on the ground or in orbit. DART’s goal hitting the asteroid Dimorphos is to move the asteroid’s orbit around the slightly larger asteroid Didymos.
Observing the aftermath of the collision, particularly the shift in orbit, will help researchers understand how best to protect Earth from potentially dangerous asteroids in the future. Although the asteroids Dimorphos and Didymos are both harmless to Earth.
(Spider web)
