NASA DART Spacecraft Impact: Cloud of Debris at Asteroid Dimorphos

This captivating image collage comprises 16 individual snapshots arranged in a 4×4 grid, each taken on distinct dates. At the core of every frame is a delicate light blue fuzzy dot over a dark backdrop. From an initial diffuse halo in the first image, the dot evolves into various forms before ultimately transforming into an elongated tail pointing rightward in the final snapshot.

These remarkable images, captured using the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, showcase the dramatic progression of the debris cloud following NASA’s DART spacecraft’s collision with asteroid Dimorphos. Commencing with the initial image snapped on September 26, 2022, just prior to the impact, and culminating with the last image taken nearly a month later on October 25, 2022, the series reveals the development of intriguing structures like clumps, spirals, and an extensive dust tail propelled by the Sun’s radiation. The white arrow in each panel highlights the Sun’s direction.

Asteroid Dimorphos orbits its larger counterpart, Didymos. Although the white horizontal bar signifies a distance of 500 kilometers, the asteroids are a mere 1 kilometer apart, rendering them indistinguishable in these visuals. The streaks in the background result from the perceived motion of stars during observations as the telescope tracked the asteroid duo.

Credit: ESO/Opitom et al.