The Universe. Space. Tech > Astronomy news, astrophysics and space science > An amateur astronomer shows previously unseen images of the DART collision with the asteroid Dimorphos

An amateur astronomer shows previously unseen images of the DART collision with the asteroid Dimorphos

Ivan Hrinko

An amateur astronomer impressed the world community with his unique photographs of the results of the advanced DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, which aimed to defeat the asteroid. The images reveal the incredible scale and duration of this event. Jacint Roger Perez, a volunteer scientist from Barcelona who is interested in astronomy, used unpublished images of the DART mission and created an exciting video highlighting the impressive moment of the collision.

Artificial animation of the DART collision with the asteroid Dimorphos. Illustration: ESA

This unique report, which appeared thanks to skilful processing, allows each of us to delve into the epochal moment when the DART spacecraft crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos. The scientist used previously unpublished images from LICIAcube — a tiny CubeSat sent by the Italian Space Agency together with NASA, for a more detailed observation of the collision from a close distance.

In a video posted on the social network X (formerly Twitter), Perez successfully reproduced the moment of the collision, which, according to scientists, turned out to be much more impressive than predicted. The asteroid Dimorphos, which is only 177 m in size, orbits the larger asteroid Didymos (65803 Didymos). The impact led to the release of more than a thousand tons of dust and rocks.

Interesting facts about the collision of DART with Dimorphos

Interestingly, according to information released by NASA in December last year, a huge tail of debris was formed after the collision, extending behind the asteroid for tens of thousands of kilometres. It remained noticeable for several months. According to the assumptions of scientists, changes in the orbit of the Dimorphos should have led to a decrease in the period of its rotation of several minutes, but the influence of the spacecraft caused its reduction by more than half an hour. The strike turned out to be more effective than expected.

The mission, which aimed not only to study asteroids, but also to solve the problem of the possibility of deviating potentially dangerous asteroids from the Earth, turned out to be extremely successful. The large mass of data obtained contributes to the development of scientific theories and the improvement of methods of interaction with space bodies that pose a danger to our planet. Therefore, the DART mission has become a real breakthrough in space exploration. Its success opens up new opportunities for humanity, allowing us to improve our understanding of the space and make the Earth a safer place.

Artist’s impressions of the collision of DART with the asteroid Dimorphos. Illustration: ESA

Earlier, we talked about the TOP 7 “near-death” photos of completed space missions.

According to sciencealert.com

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Иван Гринько
Ivan Hrinko

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When I got an encyclopedia about the Universe into my hands in my childhood. Enthusiastically read the materials of the popular science publication. I was especially surprised by such poorly studied objects as black holes, quasars, dark matter and dark energy. Every time I opened another book about space, I disappeared there for several hours, […]