Now that you’ve seen this asteroid impact comparison, check out this latest update from NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft. It recently captured an image of Didymos, the double-asteroid system that includes its target, Dimorphos. In just under 3-weeks, DART will purposely crash into Dimorphos, the asteroid moonlet of Didymos.
The image you see above is actually a composite of 243 images taken by the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) on July 27, 2022. It was taken at around 20 million miles away from the DART—the Didymos system and is still very faint. The success of DART will ultimately depend on its ability to see and process images of Didymos and Dimorphos. This data will then guide the spacecraft toward the asteroid, and during the final four hours before impact, DART will need to self-navigate to impact successfully with Dimorphos without any human intervention.
- POWERFUL TELESCOPE FOR ASTRONOMY BEGINNERS: The AstroMaster 130EQ delivers sharp optics, a stable equatorial mount, and smooth manual controls, making...
- HIGH-QUALITY 130MM OPTICS: Enjoy views through the 130mm (5”) Newtonian reflector, which features high-quality aluminum and SiO₂ coatings and...
- SMOOTH, ACCURATE POINTING: Effortlessly aim and center your target using the two slow-motion control knobs for right ascension and declination whether...
Seeing the DRACO images of Didymos for the first time, we can iron out the best settings for DRACO and fine-tune the software. In September, we’ll refine where DART is aiming by getting a more precise determination of Didymos’ location,” said Julie Bellerose, the DART navigation lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
