Asteroid moonlet Dimorphos after collision, JWST image

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James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) image of Dimorphos, the asteroid moonlet in the double-asteroid system of Didymos, about 4 hours after the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft deliberately impacted with it. A tight, compact core and plumes of material appearing as wisps streaming away from the centre of where the impact took place, are visible in the image. The DART collision was a test of whether such an impact would deflect an asteroid heading towards Earth. The test was successful, altered the orbit of Dimorphos around Didymos by 32 minutes. Image captured by JWST's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument on 26th September 2022.

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Size: 3360px × 2605px
Location:
Photo credit: © NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, -earth, -infrared, 2000s, 2020s, 4, 26, 2022, 21st, asteroid, astronomical, astronomy, binary, camera, century, core, dart, defence, defense, didymos, dimorphos, double, double-asteroid, ejecta, ejecting, hours, impact, james, jwst, material, mission, moonlet, nircam, planetary, plumes, projectile, protection, redirection, september, space, spacecraft, system, target, telescope, test, webb