Space and astronomy news
The asteroid Dimorphos was captured by NASA’s DART mission just two seconds before the spacecraft struck its surface on Sept. 26, 2022. Observations of the asteroid before and after impact suggest it is a loosely packed “rubble pile” object. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL collided with Dimorphos, the small moonlet orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos. In so doing, the mission successfully demonstrated a proposed strategy for deflecting potentially hazardous asteroids – the kinetic impact method.
, which accompanied the DART mission and witnessed the kinetic impact test. This data allowed the team to constrain the initial conditions of the ejecta, including its trajectories and velocities – ranging from a few tens of meters per second to about 500 m/s . The team then used the supercomputers at NASA’sThese simulations tracked the 3 million particles created by the DART mission’s impact with Dimorphos.
Their results indicated that some of these particles would reach Earth and Mars within a decade or more, depending on how fast they traveled after the impact. For example, particles ejected at velocities below 500 m/s could reach Mars in about 13 years, whereas those ejected at velocities exceeding 1.5 km/s could reach Earth in as little as seven years. However, their simulations indicated that it will likely be up to 30 years before any of this ejecta is observed on Earth.
“However, these faster particles are expected to be too small to produce visible meteors, based on early observations,” said Peña-Asensio. “Nevertheless, ongoing meteor observation campaigns will be critical in determining whether DART has created a new meteor shower: the Dimorphids. Meteor observing campaigns in the coming decades will have the last word. If these ejected Dimorphos fragments reach Earth, they will not pose any risk.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
US Space Command Detects Chinese Rocket Debris in Earth OrbitThe proliferation of space junk poses a threat to satellites and other spacecraft.
Read more »
10 Biggest Differences Between The MCU Timeline & Fox's X-Men Timeline After Deadpool & WolverineCaptain America, Wolverine and the Scarlet Witch in Earth-616 and Earth-10005
Read more »
Earth hit by 'severe' solar stormThe Earth was hit Monday by an intense solar storm that could bring the northern lights to night skies further south than normal, a US agency announced.
Read more »
Earth’s temperature hit all-time record high on Sunday as warming planet marks keep fallingWASHINGTON (AP) — On Sunday, the Earth sizzled to the hottest day ever measured by humans, yet another heat record shattered in the past couple of years,
Read more »
Battery suspect hit, but 'did not hit her hard,' deputy says, before escape from hospital'The arrestee was heard yelling at the victim from outside the front door of the residence.' That's what a deputy reported hearing at the scene of a disturbance
Read more »
Guardians Pitcher Logan Allen Takes Line Drive Off Head, Stays in GameAllen was hit in the head by a 105-mph line drive hit by Randal Grichuk.
Read more »