This image was taken after NASA intentionally crashed a spacecraft into the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos on Sep. 26, 2022. Didymos, the larger asteroid that Dimorphos orbits, can be seen in the center. Beneath it is Dimorphos and the plume caused by the spacecraft impact.
NASA testing has confirmed that crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid could alter its trajectory, protecting Earth from a potential doomsday scenario.
Debris ejected from the DART impact helped give asteroid Dimorphos an extra push – Physics ...
The impact of a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos last year changed the asteroid's orbital period around its companion asteroid, Didymos, by 33 minutes, with much of the momentum change coming from the ejecta liberated by the impact.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was a NASA spacecraft designed as a test of whether it is possible in future to deflect a potentially hazardous asteroid away from Earth.
DART impact provided real-time data on evolution of asteroid's debris -- ScienceDaily
"My work on this mission so far has been to study the heliocentric changes to the orbit of Didymos and its smaller moon Dimorphos -- the target of the DART spacecraft," said Makadia.
The team observed a 33-minute change in the orbit after DART's impact. Makadia said, if there were no ejecta, the period change would have been less than 33 minutes.
470-foot Asteroid 2015 BY310 heading for SCARY Earth encounter; clocked at fiery 27782kmph | Tech ...
Asteroids move in an elliptical orbit around the Sun, and they also rotate while moving, sometimes in an erratic manner.
The asteroid, given the name of Asteroid 2015 BY310, has particularly piqued the interest of scientists due to its sheer size. NASA estimates the asteroid to be nearly 470 feet wide, which makes it almost as big as a skyscraper!
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