James Webb, Hubble Telescopes Reveal First Images of DART's Impact on Dimorphos

James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope turned their gaze toward the asteroid Dimorphos earlier this week for the historic test of Earth's capabilities in protecting itself against potentially life-threatening space rock in the future. NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impactor slammed into Dimorphos on Monday night, September 26.

Astronomers rejoiced at this historic test as the DART spacecraft slammed into the pyramid-sized asteroid that is 6.8 million miles (11 million kilometers) from Earth. Ground-based telescopes showed a vast cloud of dust expanding from the asteroid, while the two space-based telescopes just released the first images of the impact.

Webb, Hubble Collaborate To Capture DART Impact

The James Webb and Hubble telescopes revealed their first images on Thursday, September 29, of the DART spacecraft deliberately smashing into the Dimorphos asteroid and it looks like it is greater than expected.

The coordinated observations of the two telescopes are more than just an operation milestone for each of them as it also helps answer key scientific questions regarding the history of the Solar System that scientists can study by combining the capabilities of these telescopes.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that this is the first time that James Webb and Hubble telescopes simultaneously captured imagery from the same target: an asteroid impacted by the DART spacecraft after a 7-million-mile journey.

DART Impact Appears To Be Greater Than Expected

Astronomer Alan Fitzsimmons from Queen's University Belfast involved in the ATLAS project said that the images captured by the two telescopes showed matter spraying thousands of kilometers. As James Webb Space Telescope zooms in, it clearly shows how the material is flying out from the explosive impact.

James Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) took a picture of the impact four hours later and showed plumes of material streaming away from the center where DART impacted, Science Alert reported.

Hubble took photos 22 minutes after the impact and then another five hours later and then eight hours later to show that expanding spray of matter from the impact site.

European Space Agency (ESA) scientist Ian Carnelli commented that it was indeed impressive to see images from both Hubble and Webb telescopes were similar to those taken by the toaster-sized satellite LICICube that is just 50 kilometers away from Dimorphos after separating from DART a few weeks ago.

Carnelli said that the images depict an impact that looks bigger than expected, making her think that there might not be anything left of the asteroid after the impact. Carnelli the manager of ESA's Hera mission will inspect the damage, which is estimated to be around 33 feet (10 meters) in the next four years. The Hera mission is scheduled to launch in October 2024 and will arrive in 2026.

But aside from the size of the crater, the true measurement of the success of DART is how much it diverted the asteroid's directory. The success will show the world that it is possible to deflect an asteroid's trajectory so it can prepare to defend itself against bigger asteroids in the future.

Scientists estimate that it will take a week before they could estimate how much of Dimorphos' trajectory was altered and another three to four weeks to get a precise measurement.

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