NASA's James Webb and Hubble Capture Detailed Images of DART's Asteroid Impact

NASA's iconic and powerful telescopes were eye-witnesses to the epic asteroid impact of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission that proved to be a successful initial planetary defense test for the space agency.

This marks the first time that Hubble and James Webb simultaneously observed the same celestial target.

On September 26, DART intentionally collided with Dimorphos, the asteroid moonlet in Didymos' double-asteroid system. It was the first time the kinetic impact mitigation technology has ever been tested, which involves deploying a spaceship to divert an asteroid that doesn't pose a threat to Earth and change its orbit.

Together, the Hubble and Webb observatories can answer important scientific questions about the structure and development of our solar system. The synchronized observations of the telescopes are more than merely a technical achievement for each telescope, according to NASA.

Scientists will be able to learn more about the characteristics of Dimorphos' surface, the amount of material ejected by the collision, and the speed at which it was ejected by combining observations from Webb and Hubble.

Additionally, Webb recorded the collision in infrared, while Hubble recorded it in visible light, using distinct wavelengths of light.

Webb Snaps the Impact Site

Webb made one observation of the impact point before the crash and many more during the following few hours. Images from Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) show the object's tight, compact core and material plumes flowing away from the object's center.

Given the asteroid's rapid ascent through the sky, viewing the impact with Webb posed special difficulties for the mission operations, planning, and science teams, according to NASA.

Over five hours, Webb examined the impact and took ten pictures. The information was gathered as part of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy's Webb Cycle 1 Guaranteed Time Observation Program 1245, which was directed by Heidi Hammel (AURA).

Hubble Captures Ejecta's Movement

Hubble captured images of the binary system 15 minutes before the collision and 15 minutes after DART hit Dimorphos' surface. Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 captured images that demonstrate the impact in visible light.

Ejecta from the impact is visible as beams extend from the asteroid's body. The more prominent, widely spread out spike of ejecta to the left of the asteroid is in the general vicinity of where DART came from, according to NASA.

Astronomers need to look more closely to interpret some of the beams' apparent small curves. Astronomers determined from the Hubble photos that the brightness of the system increased three times after impact and remained constant even eight hours after the impact.

Over the following three weeks, Hubble intends to check in on the Didymos-Dimorphos system ten more times. NASA said that the ejecta cloud's expansion from the ejection to its disappearance will be better depicted by these consistent, long-term measurements as it changes over time.

Hubble snapped 45 pictures before and after DART's collision with Dimorphos, the data was gathered as part of Cycle 29 General Observers Program 16674.

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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla