Tuesday 4 October 2022 – 11:54 WIB
–
LIVE Techno – A telescope in Chile has successfully captured the large spots created by the collision between spacecraft DART NASA which accidentally hit Dimorphos, a small moon in orbit asteroid besar Didymus.
The incident was a planetary defense test; NASA is looking into whether a kinetic impactor could change the trajectory of an Earth-bound space rock if we ever see a boulder on a collision course with us.
NASA is still sifting through the collision data to determine whether the Dual Asteroid Diversion Test, or DART, changed Dimorphos’ orbital trajectory around its larger companion, but images of the collision are coming thick and fast from all telescopic lenses.
The latest images come from the Southern Astrophysics Research Telescope (SOAR) in Chile, operated by NOIRLab. The SOAR telescope is located in the foothills of the Andes.
The dust trail extending from the collision is clearly visible, extending to the right corner of the image. According to the NOIRLab release, the debris trail extended for approximately 6,000 miles (10,000 kilometers) from the point of impact.
Teddy Kareta, a Lowell Observatory astronomer who was involved in the observations, said: “It’s amazing how clearly we were able to capture the structure and magnitude of the impact in the days following the impact.”
NASA scientists have yet to prove their resolve on DART’s success, but it is expected that there will be further findings on the event, ranging from the amount of material ejected from Didymos, the disintegration of the material, and the speed at which it could have entered. action. .
–
