Ejecta from the DART-produced active asteroid Dimorphos

Jian-Yang Li (), Masatoshi Hirabayashi, Tony L. Farnham, Jessica M. Sunshine, Matthew M. Knight, Gonzalo Tancredi, Fernando Moreno, Brian Murphy, Cyrielle Opitom, Steve Chesley, Daniel J. Scheeres, Cristina A. Thomas, Eugene G. Fahnestock, Andrew F. Cheng, Linda Dressel, Carolyn M. Ernst, Fabio Ferrari, Alan Fitzsimmons, Simone Ieva, Stavro L. Ivanovski, Theodore Kareta, Ludmilla Kolokolova, Tim Lister, Sabina D. Raducan, Andrew S. Rivkin, Alessandro Rossi, Stefania Soldini, Angela M. Stickle, Alison Vick, Jean-Baptiste Vincent, Harold A. Weaver, Stefano Bagnulo, Michele T. Bannister, Saverio Cambioni, Adriano Campo Bagatin, Nancy L. Chabot, Gabriele Cremonese, R. Terik Daly, Elisabetta Dotto, David A. Glenar, Mikael Granvik, Pedro H. Hasselmann, Isabel Herreros, Seth Jacobson, Martin Jutzi, Tomas Kohout, Fiorangela La Forgia, Monica Lazzarin, Zhong-Yi Lin, Ramin Lolachi, Alice Lucchetti, Rahil Makadia, Elena Mazzotta Epifani, Patrick Michel, Alessandra Migliorini, Nicholas A. Moskovitz, Jens Ormö, Maurizio Pajola, Paul Sánchez, Stephen R. Schwartz, Colin Snodgrass, Jordan Steckloff, Timothy J. Stubbs and Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez
Additional contact information
Jian-Yang Li: Planetary Science Institute
Masatoshi Hirabayashi: Auburn University
Tony L. Farnham: University of Maryland
Jessica M. Sunshine: University of Maryland
Matthew M. Knight: United States Naval Academy
Gonzalo Tancredi: Facultad de Ciencias
Fernando Moreno: Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, CSIC
Brian Murphy: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
Cyrielle Opitom: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
Steve Chesley: California Institute of Technology
Daniel J. Scheeres: University of Colorado
Cristina A. Thomas: Northern Arizona University
Eugene G. Fahnestock: California Institute of Technology
Andrew F. Cheng: Johns Hopkins University
Linda Dressel: Space Telescope Science Institute
Carolyn M. Ernst: Johns Hopkins University
Fabio Ferrari: Politecnico di Milano
Alan Fitzsimmons: Queen’s University Belfast
Simone Ieva: INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
Stavro L. Ivanovski: INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste
Theodore Kareta: Lowell Observatory
Ludmilla Kolokolova: University of Maryland
Tim Lister: Las Cumbres Observatory
Sabina D. Raducan: University of Bern
Andrew S. Rivkin: Johns Hopkins University
Alessandro Rossi: IFAC-CNR
Stefania Soldini: University of Liverpool
Angela M. Stickle: Johns Hopkins University
Alison Vick: Space Telescope Science Institute
Jean-Baptiste Vincent: DLR Institute of Planetary Research
Harold A. Weaver: Johns Hopkins University
Stefano Bagnulo: Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
Michele T. Bannister: University of Canterbury
Saverio Cambioni: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Adriano Campo Bagatin: Universidad de Alicante
Nancy L. Chabot: Johns Hopkins University
Gabriele Cremonese: INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
R. Terik Daly: Johns Hopkins University
Elisabetta Dotto: INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
David A. Glenar: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Mikael Granvik: University of Helsinki
Pedro H. Hasselmann: INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
Isabel Herreros: CSIC-INTA
Seth Jacobson: Michigan State University
Martin Jutzi: University of Bern
Tomas Kohout: Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences
Fiorangela La Forgia: Astronomia-Padova University
Monica Lazzarin: Astronomia-Padova University
Zhong-Yi Lin: National Central University
Ramin Lolachi: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Alice Lucchetti: INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
Rahil Makadia: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Elena Mazzotta Epifani: INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
Patrick Michel: Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS
Alessandra Migliorini: INAF - Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology
Nicholas A. Moskovitz: Lowell Observatory
Jens Ormö: CSIC-INTA
Maurizio Pajola: INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
Paul Sánchez: University of Colorado
Stephen R. Schwartz: Planetary Science Institute
Colin Snodgrass: University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory
Jordan Steckloff: Planetary Science Institute
Timothy J. Stubbs: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez: UAB Bellaterra

Nature, 2023, vol. 616, issue 7957, 452-456

Abstract: Abstract Some active asteroids have been proposed to be formed as a result of impact events1. Because active asteroids are generally discovered by chance only after their tails have fully formed, the process of how impact ejecta evolve into a tail has, to our knowledge, not been directly observed. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission of NASA2, in addition to having successfully changed the orbital period of Dimorphos3, demonstrated the activation process of an asteroid resulting from an impact under precisely known conditions. Here we report the observations of the DART impact ejecta with the Hubble Space Telescope from impact time T + 15 min to T + 18.5 days at spatial resolutions of around 2.1 km per pixel. Our observations reveal the complex evolution of the ejecta, which are first dominated by the gravitational interaction between the Didymos binary system and the ejected dust and subsequently by solar radiation pressure. The lowest-speed ejecta dispersed through a sustained tail that had a consistent morphology with previously observed asteroid tails thought to be produced by an impact4,5. The evolution of the ejecta after the controlled impact experiment of DART thus provides a framework for understanding the fundamental mechanisms that act on asteroids disrupted by a natural impact1,6.

Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05811-4

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