Webb and Hubble separate the impact of DART on an asteroid

On a Tuesday night, cracked DART . probe NASA in Asteroid Demorphos. The collision, in which the US space agency tests asteroid defense measures, was also recorded by space telescopes James Webb And the Hubble.

NASA released the images on Thursday. It is the first time that Webb and Hubble have observed the same target simultaneously. It says in the broadcast.

Before and after effect

The James Webb Telescope observed Demorphos at the top 5 hours for a long time and took it 10 photos on me. A time-lapse video released by NASA shows the asteroid just before the collision, as well as how clouds of material such as wisps stream from the impact center afterward. Pictures were taken with a near infrared camera (camera yoke) space telescope:

Hubble also noted the deliberate crash. NASA has 3 Wide Field Camera Recordings 3 (WFC3) from the telescope installed side by side. You can see the asteroid 22 minutesAnd the 5 hours And the 8.2 hours after effect.

In general, the Hubble telescope took 45 photos asteroid. In the next three weeks, the NASA statement said, it will monitor the Dimorphos Didymos asteroid system 10 more times to get a more complete picture of the ejecta plume.

documented The effect was also from ASI’s LICIACube small satellite and from telescopes on Earth.

Scientific work begins

After the impact, the actual scientific work begins. NASA researchers now have to investigate whether the orbit of Demorphos, a moon-type asteroid, changes for about 12 hours. Didymus As a result of the impact of the probe – and if so, how much it has changed. 2024 To investigate this question in more detail, the task Hira European Space Agency ESA beginning.