The deviation of the killer asteroid is more complicated than NASA’s belief

In 2022, NASA shocked a spacecraft on the asteroid to see if it could change the period of the orbital around the mother asteroid. The task, which was called the DART Restructural Test, aims to determine whether humanity can theoretically save from the impact of the catastrophic asteroid.

Dart collided with Damorfos, a small moon that revolves around the largest asteroid called Didimus, on September 26, 2022. The results of the influence have detonated NASA’s expectations of water, which reduced the tropical period of the blood timps by 32 minutes. Such a change will be more than enough to disclose the dangerous asteroid away from the ground, indicating that this strategy – the technique of motor effect – can save us if necessary. New research, however, holds this success story. The investigation of the debris left by the successor indicates that this technique, when applied to the planetary defense, is not as clear as scientists initially believed.

The author of the study, Tony Farneham, astronomer at the University of Maryland, said in A. statement. “Our research shows that although the direct effect of the spacecraft in Dar caused this change, it gave the rocks that were taken out an additional kick almost large. This additional factor changes the physics that we need to take into account when planning these types of tasks.” Farneham and his colleagues published their results in Planetary Science Magazine On July 4.

Dimorphos is an asteroid “rubble”, a loose group of materials such as rocks, gravel and rocks that are gathered by gravity. This study applies only to this type of asteroid. If you collide with a more coherent body, the effect would not have been caused by these strange effects. However, there are a lot of other rubble asteroids in the galaxy, so understanding how it responds to the technology of motor effect is important.

The researchers analyzed the photos taken by Liciacube, a satellite at the Italian Space Agency that was installed on the DART spacecraft. About two weeks before the effect, Liciacube separate She began to follow about three minutes behind the spacecraft, allowing satellites to pack images for collision and its effects on the ground. In addition to monitoring the hole installed on the surface of Dimorphos, Liciacube picked up the slaughterhouse, or the debris cloud that was removed from the asteroid when DART hits it.

These images allowed Farnham and its colleagues to track 104 rocks ranging from 1.3 to 23.6 feet (0.4 to 7.2 meters). The rocks are released away from the asteroid at 116 miles per hour (187 km per hour). It is strange that the distribution of this loyal debris was not random, as it challenges the expectations of researchers.

“We have seen that the rocks were not randomly spread in space,” said Varnham. “Instead, they were assembled in two distinct groups, with no materials elsewhere, which means that something unknown is working here.”

More than the two groups, which contain 70 % of the debris, are released south away from the asteroid at high speeds and shallow angles. The researchers believe that these things came from a specific source on Dimorphos – perhaps two large rocks called ATABAQUE and Bodhran that were shattered when the solar panels were criticized in a day in moments before hitting the main body of the spacecraft.

When the team compared this result with the task of the deep influence in NASA, which is, which Punch An investigation in a comet to study its internal structure, the distribution of debris is more logical. While the deep effect hit a surface consisting of very small uniform molecules, DART hit a rock surface full of large rocks. He explained in the statement that “it led to chaotic and fantastic structures in ejaculation patterns.”

She said: “Comparing these two tasks side by side gives us this insight on how the different types of heavenly bodies respond to the effects, which is very important to ensure the success of the planetary defense mission.”

The 104 rocks, which were taken out, carried a total movement energy equal to 1.4 % of the DART spacecraft, and 96 % of that energy was directed to the south, representing “significant momentum contributions that were not calculated in the tropical period measurements”, and the researchers stated in their report. The strength of the debris that explodes away from Dimorphos at the effect of DART can be tilt to the tropical level of the asteroid to one degree, which may cause it wrong in space.

Thus, the full accountability of the momentum in all directions and the understanding of the role played by surface rocks will provide better knowledge of how to change the details of the effect – either reduce or enhance – the effects of the motor effect, “the researchers wrote.

Astronomers have them Indexing Nearly 2,500 asteroids that are likely to be dangerous in our corner of the galaxy. These are the space rocks that can be anxiously close to Earth and are large enough to cause great harm to the effect. While there is currently no known danger to one of these asteroids that hit our planet during the next century, developing strategies to prevent such a catastrophe can one day be proven. The success of the DART mission indicates that NASA is on the right track, but this new study shows that we still have a lot to learn about the effects of motor effect technology.