Asteroid Dimorphos has 10,000 kilometre-long tail of debris after DART crash

Two days after the impact, astronomers at the Lowell Observatory and the US Naval Academy took this image of Dimorphos using the 4.1-metre Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope at the NOIRLab’s Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. It shows a vast dust trail that is pushed in one direction due to the Sun’s radiation pressure, similar to what happens with the tail of a comet.

“It is amazing how clearly we were able to capture the structure and extent of the aftermath in the days following the impact,” said Teddy Kareta, in a press statement. Kareta is an astronomer at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona. Using the distance of Dimorphos from the Earth at the time of the observation, astronomers calculate that the tail is 10,000 kilometres long.

“Now begins the next phase of work for the DART team as they analyze their data and observations by our team and other observers around the world who shared in studying this exciting event. We plan to use SOAR to monitor the ejecta in the coming weeks and months. The combination of SOAR and AEON is just what we need for efficient follow-up of evolving events like this one,” said Matthew Knight, in a press statement. Knight is an astronomer at the US Naval Academy.

Observations like these will help scientists understand more about the nature of Dimorphos, how much material was ejected from the crash, how fast it was ejected and the sizes of the particles in the dust cloud. Scientists will analyse this information to better understand the result of the impact and whether it was successful in modifying an asteroid’s orbit.