The outcomes agreed with earlier calculations. By doing so, they are able to forecast Dimorphos’ whereabouts at particular points in time, particularly when DART will have an impact. Scientists were able to properly calculate how long it takes Dimorphos to orbit the larger asteroid by analyzing those brightness variations. Overall, the team was able to determine 11 new mutual events’ time from the data. “We asked for six half-nights of observation with some expectation that about half of those would be lost to weather, but we only lost one night. This resulted in the telescope being shut down for close to ten days.
In fact, just after the observation campaign, a major snowstorm hit Chile, prompting evacuations from the mountain where SOAR is located. In the Southern Hemisphere, the threat of winter storms loomed. In the Northern Hemisphere, the nights are short, and it is monsoon season in Arizona. “It was a tricky time of year to get these observations,” said Moskovitz. It is the first attempt in history to alter the speed and course of an asteroid’s motion in space.Īccording to Andy Rivkin, a co-lead on the DART investigation team at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, “the team’s measurements in early 2021 were crucial for ensuring that DART arrived at the right place and time for its kinetic impact into Dimorphos.” “Confirming those measurements with new observations shows us that we don’t need any course changes and we’re already right on target.”
DART tests an asteroid deflection technique that might be helpful if a need for planetary defence emerges in the future. These data validate the projected location of the asteroid at the time of impact. Dimorphos is orbiting Didymos, its bigger parent asteroid. The DART investigative team finished a six-night observation campaign last month using some of the most potent telescopes in the world to verify earlier estimates of the orbit of Dimorphos-target DART’s asteroid.
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