New Hubble and Webb Images Capture Aftermath of DART Asteroid Smash Up
upstart writes:
New Hubble and Webb Images Capture Aftermath of DART Asteroid Smash Up:
The event marked the first time that Hubble and Webb simultaneously observed the same object.
NASA's first attempt at nudging an asteroid from its usual orbital path was captured by the DART spacecraft itself, its companion spacecraft, LICIACube, and various ground-based observatories on Earth. And as promised, the celestial smash up was also observed by the Hubble and Webb space telescopes, the first images from which were released today.
The recently commissioned Webb Space Telescope captured one image of the Didymos-Dimorphos system before the collision and several in the hours after the event. In total, Webb performed five hours of observations, capturing 10 images. Astronomer Heidi Hammel from the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy led the viewing session.
[...] The newly released Hubble image shows plenty of surface material emanating from Dimorphos, with rays extending out from its body. Some of the rays have a slight curve to them, which astronomers will need to study and explain. Fascinatingly, the brightness of the Didymos-Dimorphos system increased three-fold after the impact, and this brightness held steady for eight hours. Again, this is something astronomers will need to explain.
Hubble will perform 10 more observations of the system over the next three weeks. "These regular, relatively long-term observations as the ejecta cloud expands and fades over time will paint a more complete picture of the cloud's expansion from the ejection to its disappearance," the ESA release stated.
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