made history this week after an attempt to slam its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft against an asteroid nearly 7 million miles away. While NASA shared close-up images of the impact, it also observed the planetary defense test from afar, with help from the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes. On the surface, the images aren’t exactly the most striking things we’ve seen from either telescope, but they could help reveal a lot of valuable information.
It was the first time Hubble and JSWT had simultaneously observed the same celestial target. While this is a milestone for the telescopes on their own, NASA suggests the data they captured will help researchers learn more about the history and composition of the solar system. They will be able to use the information to learn more about the surface of Dimorphos (the asteroid in question), the amount of material ejected after DART crashed into it, and how fast that material was moving.
JWST and Hubble captured different wavelengths of light (infrared and visible, respectively). NASA says the ability to observe data from multiple wavelengths will help scientists determine if large chunks of material left Dimorphos’ surface or if it was mostly fine dust. This is an important aspect of the test, as the data can help researchers determine whether crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid can alter its orbit. The ultimate goal is to develop a system that can.
NASA says JWST captured images “of a tight, compact core, with plumes of material appearing as streaks moving away from the center of where the impact occurred.” JWST, which captured 10 images in five hours, will continue to collect spectroscopic data from the asteroid system in the coming months to help researchers better understand the chemical composition of Dimorphos. NASA shared a time-lapse GIF of the footage captured by JWST.
At around 14,000 MPH, Dimorphos was moving at a speed more than three times faster than JWST was originally designed to track. However, the telescope’s flight operations, planning, and science teams were able to develop a way to capture the impact.
As for Hubble, the 32-year-old telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 captured its own images of the collision. “Ejecta from the impact appear as rays extending from the body of the asteroid,” according to NASA. The agency noted that some of the rays appear bent and that astronomers will need to examine the data to better understand what this may mean.
According to their initial findings, however, the brightness of the asteroid system tripled after the impact. This level of brightness remained the same for at least eight hours. Hubble captured 45 images immediately before and after the DART impact. It will observe the asteroid system 10 more times over the next few weeks.
for DART, which is about the size of a vending machine, to reach Dimorphos. The football-stadium-sized asteroid was about 6.8 million kilometers from Earth when DART slammed into it. Achieving an experience like this is no small feat. What scientists learn from this test can be invaluable.
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