Scientists hope the mission will reveal information about how we can hit and deflect space junk before something hits Earth.
Experts that track the cosmos don’t know of any dangerous asteroids heading our way in the next 100 years. But NASA wants a plan in place to avoid any future Armageddon.
Double-tail phenomenon
The double tail is an unusual and unexpected development. And scientists can’t explain it.
An asteroid is a simple space rock. Most appear as a pinpoint of light in telescope images. And they do not have tails.
A comet is soaring ball of ice and dust. And it usually has two distinct tails.
One tail consists of white dust. The other appears as a shining blue. And is made of electrically charged ion particles.
The crash and explosion caused by DART seems to have turned an asteroid into a comet. Or at least now it has dual tails.
Hubble has captured 18-time sequence images of the Dimorphos-Didymos system since the DART collision. Evidence is that the second, “northern” tail formed between October 2nd and 8th.
