Light curves and colours of the ejecta from Dimorphos after the DART impact

Graykowski, Ariel; Lambert, Ryan A.; Marchis, Franck; Cazeneuve, Dorian; Dalba, Paul A.; Esposito, Thomas M.; Peluso, Daniel O’Conner; Sgro, Lauren A.; Blaclard, Guillaume; Borot, Antonin; Malvache, Arnaud; Marfisi, Laurent; Powell, Tyler M.; Huet, Patrice; Limagne, Matthieu; Payet, Bruno; Clarke, Colin; Murabana, Susan; Owen, Daniel Chu; Wasilwa, Ronald; Fukui, Keiichi; Goto, Tateki; Guillet, Bruno; Huth, Patrick; Ishiyama, Satoshi; Kukita, Ryuichi; Mitchell, Mike; Primm, Michael; Randolph, Justus; Rivett, Darren A.; Ryno, Matthew; Shimizu, Masao; Toullec, Jean-Pierre; Will, Stefan; Yue, Wai-Chun; Camilleri, Michael; Graykowski, Kathy; Janetzke, Ron; Janke, Des; Kardel, Scott; Loose, Margaret; Pickering, John W.; Smith, Barton A.; Transom, Ian M.

Light curves and colours of the ejecta from Dimorphos after the DART impact

Ariel Graykowski (), Ryan A. Lambert, Franck Marchis, Dorian Cazeneuve, Paul A. Dalba, Thomas M. Esposito, Daniel O’Conner Peluso, Lauren A. Sgro, Guillaume Blaclard, Antonin Borot, Arnaud Malvache, Laurent Marfisi, Tyler M. Powell, Patrice Huet, Matthieu Limagne, Bruno Payet, Colin Clarke, Susan Murabana, Daniel Chu Owen, Ronald Wasilwa, Keiichi Fukui, Tateki Goto, Bruno Guillet, Patrick Huth, Satoshi Ishiyama, Ryuichi Kukita, Mike Mitchell, Michael Primm, Justus Randolph, Darren A. Rivett, Matthew Ryno, Masao Shimizu, Jean-Pierre Toullec, Stefan Will, Wai-Chun Yue, Michael Camilleri, Kathy Graykowski, Ron Janetzke, Des Janke, Scott Kardel, Margaret Loose, John W. Pickering, Barton A. Smith and Ian M. Transom
Additional contact information
Ariel Graykowski: Carl Sagan Center
Ryan A. Lambert: Carl Sagan Center
Franck Marchis: Carl Sagan Center
Dorian Cazeneuve: Carl Sagan Center
Paul A. Dalba: Carl Sagan Center
Thomas M. Esposito: Carl Sagan Center
Daniel O’Conner Peluso: Carl Sagan Center
Lauren A. Sgro: Carl Sagan Center
Guillaume Blaclard: Unistellar
Antonin Borot: Unistellar
Arnaud Malvache: Unistellar
Laurent Marfisi: Unistellar
Tyler M. Powell: University of California
Patrice Huet: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Matthieu Limagne: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Bruno Payet: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Colin Clarke: Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, College Hill
Susan Murabana: Nairobi Planetarium
Daniel Chu Owen: Nairobi Planetarium
Ronald Wasilwa: Nairobi Planetarium
Keiichi Fukui: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Tateki Goto: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Bruno Guillet: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Patrick Huth: Community College of Allegheny County
Satoshi Ishiyama: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Ryuichi Kukita: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Mike Mitchell: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Michael Primm: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Justus Randolph: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Darren A. Rivett: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Matthew Ryno: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Masao Shimizu: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Jean-Pierre Toullec: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Stefan Will: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Wai-Chun Yue: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Michael Camilleri: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Kathy Graykowski: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Ron Janetzke: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Des Janke: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Scott Kardel: Palomar Community College
Margaret Loose: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
John W. Pickering: University of Otago
Barton A. Smith: Unistellar Citizen Scientist
Ian M. Transom: Hamilton Astronomical Society Observatory

Nature, 2023, vol. 616, issue 7957, 461-464

Abstract: Abstract On 26 September 2022, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft struck Dimorphos, a satellite of the asteroid 65803 Didymos1. Because it is a binary system, it is possible to determine how much the orbit of the satellite changed, as part of a test of what is necessary to deflect an asteroid that might threaten Earth with an impact. In nominal cases, pre-impact predictions of the orbital period reduction ranged from roughly 8.8 to 17 min (refs. 2,3). Here we report optical observations of Dimorphos before, during and after the impact, from a network of citizen scientists’ telescopes across the world. We find a maximum brightening of 2.29 ± 0.14 mag on impact. Didymos fades back to its pre-impact brightness over the course of 23.7 ± 0.7 days. We estimate lower limits on the mass contained in the ejecta, which was 0.3–0.5% Dimorphos’s mass depending on the dust size. We also observe a reddening of the ejecta on impact.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05852-9

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