Earlier this week NASA efficiently crashed its DART spacecraft into an asteroid round seven million miles from Earth.
The mission was a check to see if the drive of such an affect can alter the course of an asteroid’s flight. If it could possibly — and we we’re ready for the outcomes to come back in — then we are able to use the know-how for planetary protection if we ever spot a hazardous asteroid heading straight for Earth.
A video stream from DART transmitted astonishingly clear photos of the spacecraft’s remaining moments earlier than crashing into the Dimorphos asteroid at 14,000 mph.
On Thursday, we discovered that two of NASA’s most distinguished area telescopes, Webb and Hubble, additionally had their cameras skilled on the large occasion.
It seems this was the primary time Webb and Hubble have been used to concurrently observe the identical celestial goal, and each captured the second of affect.
DART, you rocked on the market. 🪨#ICYMI, Webb and @NASAHubble each captured the results of #DARTMission colliding with an asteroid as a check of planetary protection. That is the primary time each telescopes noticed the identical goal on the identical time: https://t.co/CuVzJXyK2F pic.twitter.com/QvgoqBQd8r
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) September 29, 2022
The Hubble staff posted a brief clip comprising three photos displaying a flash simply after DART smashed into the area rock at excessive velocity. NASA stated the footage spans from 22 minutes after affect to simply over eight hours after the collision occurred.
Try Hubble’s “after” photographs from #DARTMission affect!
Earlier this week, @NASA deliberately crashed a spacecraft into Dimorphos, a non-threatening asteroid moonlet within the double-asteroid system of Didymos, in a check of planetary protection: https://t.co/pe2qeFDYoS pic.twitter.com/VQ5X1pQlEy
— Hubble (@NASAHubble) September 29, 2022
The totally different colours within the photos are all the way down to Webb and Hubble capturing the affect in numerous wavelengths of sunshine — Webb in infrared and Hubble in seen. The contrasting information, along with information from ground-based observatories, will assist scientists perceive how successfully an affect of this nature can alter an asteroid’s orbit, and in addition reveal extra concerning the nature of the floor of Dimorphos and the way the collision affected it.
“Webb and Hubble present what we’ve all the time recognized to be true at NASA: We be taught extra after we work collectively,” NASA chief Invoice Nelson stated on Thursday. “For the primary time, Webb and Hubble have concurrently captured imagery from the identical goal within the cosmos — an asteroid that was impacted by a spacecraft after a seven-million-mile journey. All of humanity eagerly awaits the discoveries to come back from Webb, Hubble, and our ground-based telescopes, concerning the DART mission and past.”
NASA stated that the coordinated Hubble and Webb observations are “extra than simply an operational milestone for every telescope,” explaining that combining the capabilities of the 2 space-based observatories may also assist it to discover essential science questions linked to the make-up and historical past of our photo voltaic system.
NASA’s Hubble telescope has been in orbit about 335 miles above Earth since 1990, sending again unimaginable imagery as a part of its explorations. Webb, probably the most superior area telescope ever construct, launched on the finish of final yr and is now situated round 1,000,000 miles from Earth from the place it’s additionally producing some magnificent work.
Because it continues its groundbreaking research of deep area, Webb may also regulate Dimorphos with its Mid-Infrared Instrument and Close to-Infrared Spectrograph know-how in a bid to be taught extra concerning the chemical make-up of the asteroid.
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