On September 26, 2022, NASA achieved a world-first by deliberately hitting an asteroid with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) probe. The mission is innovative in many ways, but it could also have unforeseen consequences for our planet, including the potential for man-made meteor showers.
DART Mission: A Test of Asteroid Redirection
The DART mission represents a significant turning point in the planetary defense strategy. NASA's goal was actually to test a method Asteroid deflection It is possible that the kinetic impactor could be used to change its trajectory. To do this, DART was directed towards the asteroid. DimorphosIt is a small celestial body that orbits its larger companion Didymos.
On September 26, 2022, the probe collided with Dimorphos at an astonishing speed of 1,000,000 kilometers. 24,000 km/hThe impact had remarkable effects: Not only did it change Dimorphos’s path, shortening its orbit around Didymos by nearly thirty minutes, but the collision also revealed two things. First, the results revealed that Dimorphos was loose asteroid made of debrisSuggesting that the moon may have formed from material ejected from its larger companion Didymos. Additionally, rather than simply creating an impact crater, the collision with DART appears to have occurred Dimorphos completely remodeledIt is a process called global distortion.
This test demonstrated that kinetic impact technology is a viable means of deflecting asteroids and protecting our planet from potential collisions.
Towards a meteor shower of human origin
Images taken after the collision revealed that a lot of debris was ejected into space after the collision. News Studying Reveals fascinating traces of these asteroid fragments. Researchers used a NASA supercomputer to analyze data collected by the spacecraft. LICIAcube satellite From the European Space Agency, which accompanied DART during the collision. More precisely, the researchers simulated the trajectories of Three million of these fragments Expelled. Then they found out. Some can reach Earth or the Earth-Moon system. In the coming decades.
The ejected parts will be small and different. Between thirty micrometers and ten centimeters In diameter. Although these pieces pose no danger to terrestrial life due to their small size, their arrival in the atmosphere can create amazing light trails, which would then lead to the appearance of First meteor shower caused by humansAs a reminder, meteor showers usually come from comets or asteroids.
The smallest fragments, traveling at 5,400 kilometers per hour, could reach our planet. within seven years According to calculations. However, they may be too small to cause a visible meteor. On the other hand, larger fragments, which move at a slower speed, could produce a new meteor shower called DimorphoidsHowever, it is difficult to predict exactly when these fragments will arrive and whether we will actually have the opportunity to observe this phenomenon.
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