Hubble has made 18 observations. The second tail was formed between October 2nd, and October 8.
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope observed twin tails made of dust that were ejected from the Didymos/Dimorphos Asteroid System. NASA DART spacecraft collided with a distant asteroid last month to test its first planetary defense system. It was designed to stop a doomsday-meteorite collision with Earth. Hubble captured the effects of the impact.
DART reduced Dimorphos orbit around Didymos’ original 11-hour, 55-minute duration by approximately 32 minutes according to crash data. The mission was created to find out if a spacecraft could alter an asteroid’s trajectory by sheer kinetic force. This would allow it to nudge it off course enough to save our planet.
NASA’s press release states that scientists have been able to provide a more detailed picture of how the system’s debris cloud has changed over time through repeated Hubble observations. The observations have shown that the ejected material (or “ejecta”) has expanded and diminished in brightness over time, much as was expected. Although the twin tail is an unusual development, similar behaviour is common in comets as well as active asteroids. The Hubble observations are the best-quality images of the double-tail.
Hubble has already made 18 observations of this system. The second tail was formed between October 2nd, and October 8.
“The relationship between the cometlike tail and other features seen at different times in Hubble images is still not clear. The Investigation Team is currently trying to find out. The northern tail has just been developed. The Hubble data will be closely examined by scientists over the next months. This will allow them to understand how the second tail evolved. “There are many possibilities the team will explore,” said the release.
