High-speed Boulders and the Debris Field in DART Ejecta
On 2022 September 26 the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft collided with Dimorphos, the moon of the near-Earth asteroid 65803 Didymos, in a full-scale demonstration of a kinetic impactor concept. The companion Light Italian Cubesat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube) spacecraft doc...
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| author | Tony L. Farnham Jessica M. Sunshine Masatoshi Hirabayashi Carolyn M. Ernst R. Terik Daly Harrison F. Agrusa Olivier S. Barnouin Jian-Yang Li Kathryn M. Kumamoto Megan Bruck Syal Sean E. Wiggins Evan Bjonnes Angela M. Stickle Sabina D. Raducan Andrew F. Cheng David A. Glenar Ramin Lolachi Timothy J. Stubbs Eugene G. Fahnstock Marilena Amoroso Ivano Bertini John R. Brucato Andrea Capannolo Gabriele Cremonese Massimo Dall’Ora Vincenzo Della Corte J. D. P. Deshapriya Elisabetta Dotto Igor Gai Pedro H. Hasselmann Simone Ieva Gabriele Impresario Stavro L. Ivanovski Michèle Lavagna Alice Lucchetti Francesco Marzari Elena Mazzotta Epifani Dario Modenini Maurizio Pajola Pasquale Palumbo Simone Pirrotta Giovanni Poggiali Alessandro Rossi Paolo Tortora Marco Zannoni Giovanni Zanotti Angelo Zinzi |
| author_facet | Tony L. Farnham Jessica M. Sunshine Masatoshi Hirabayashi Carolyn M. Ernst R. Terik Daly Harrison F. Agrusa Olivier S. Barnouin Jian-Yang Li Kathryn M. Kumamoto Megan Bruck Syal Sean E. Wiggins Evan Bjonnes Angela M. Stickle Sabina D. Raducan Andrew F. Cheng David A. Glenar Ramin Lolachi Timothy J. Stubbs Eugene G. Fahnstock Marilena Amoroso Ivano Bertini John R. Brucato Andrea Capannolo Gabriele Cremonese Massimo Dall’Ora Vincenzo Della Corte J. D. P. Deshapriya Elisabetta Dotto Igor Gai Pedro H. Hasselmann Simone Ieva Gabriele Impresario Stavro L. Ivanovski Michèle Lavagna Alice Lucchetti Francesco Marzari Elena Mazzotta Epifani Dario Modenini Maurizio Pajola Pasquale Palumbo Simone Pirrotta Giovanni Poggiali Alessandro Rossi Paolo Tortora Marco Zannoni Giovanni Zanotti Angelo Zinzi |
| author_sort | Tony L. Farnham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | On 2022 September 26 the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft collided with Dimorphos, the moon of the near-Earth asteroid 65803 Didymos, in a full-scale demonstration of a kinetic impactor concept. The companion Light Italian Cubesat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube) spacecraft documented the aftermath, capturing images of the expansion and evolution of the ejecta from 29 to 243 s after the impact. We present results from our analyses of these observations, including an improved reduction of the data and new absolute calibration, an updated LICIACube trajectory, and a detailed description of the events and phenomena that were recorded throughout the flyby. One notable aspect of the ejecta was the existence of clusters of boulders, up to 3.6 m in radius, that were ejected at speeds of up to 52 m s ^−1 . Our analysis of the spatial distribution of 104 of these boulders suggests that they are likely the remnants of larger boulders shattered by the DART spacecraft in the first stages of the impact. The amount of momentum contained in these boulders is more than 3 times that of the DART spacecraft, and it is directed primarily to the south, almost perpendicular to the DART trajectory. Recoil of Dimorphos from the ejection of these boulders has the potential to change its orbital plane by up to a degree and to impart a non-principal-axis component to its rotation state. Damping timescales for these phenomena are such that the Hera spacecraft, arriving at the system in 2026, should be able to measure these effects. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2632-3338 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-86471af05c20466cb5909260f59657e42025-08-20T03:15:38ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382025-01-016715510.3847/PSJ/addd1aHigh-speed Boulders and the Debris Field in DART EjectaTony L. Farnham0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4767-9861Jessica M. Sunshine1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9413-8785Masatoshi Hirabayashi2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1821-5689Carolyn M. Ernst3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9434-7886R. Terik Daly4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1320-2985Harrison F. Agrusa5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3544-298XOlivier S. Barnouin6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3578-7750Jian-Yang Li7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3841-9977Kathryn M. Kumamoto8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0400-6333Megan Bruck Syal9Sean E. Wiggins10Evan Bjonnes11Angela M. Stickle12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7602-9120Sabina D. Raducan13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7478-0148Andrew F. Cheng14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5375-4250David A. Glenar15https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2155-3854Ramin Lolachi16https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5764-7639Timothy J. Stubbs17Eugene G. Fahnstock18Marilena Amoroso19https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2603-165XIvano Bertini20John R. Brucato21https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4738-5521Andrea Capannolo22https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4917-287XGabriele Cremonese23https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9021-1140Massimo Dall’Ora24https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8209-0449Vincenzo Della Corte25J. D. P. Deshapriya26Elisabetta Dotto27Igor Gai28Pedro H. Hasselmann29https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1193-8945Simone Ieva30https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8694-9038Gabriele Impresario31Stavro L. Ivanovski32https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8068-7695Michèle Lavagna33Alice Lucchetti34https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7413-3058Francesco Marzari35https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0724-9987Elena Mazzotta Epifani36Dario Modenini37Maurizio Pajola38https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3144-1277Pasquale Palumbo39https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2323-9228Simone Pirrotta40Giovanni Poggiali41https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3239-1697Alessandro Rossi42https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9311-2869Paolo Tortora43https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9259-7673Marco Zannoni44https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4151-9656Giovanni Zanotti45Angelo Zinzi46https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5263-5348University of Maryland , Department of Astronomy, College Park, MD 20742, USA ; farnham@umd.eduUniversity of Maryland , Department of Astronomy, College Park, MD 20742, USA ; farnham@umd.edu; University of Maryland , Department of Geology, College Park, MD 20742, USADaniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , 620 Cherry Street, Atlanta, GA 30332, USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USAUniversité Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Nice, FranceJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USAPlanetary Science Institute , 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719, USALawrence Livermore National Laboratory , Livermore, CA 94550, USALawrence Livermore National Laboratory , Livermore, CA 94550, USALawrence Livermore National Laboratory , Livermore, CA 94550, USALawrence Livermore National Laboratory , Livermore, CA 94550, USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USASpace Research and Planetary Sciences, Physics Institute, University of Bern , Bern, SwitzerlandJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Center for Space Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland , Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA; Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology , NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USAAgenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) , Via del Politecnico snc, 00133, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Science and Technology, University of Naples “Parthenope,” Naples, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri , Firenze, ItalyPolitecnico di Milano , Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Aerospaziali, Milano, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova , Padova, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte , Napoli, ItalyINAF—Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali , Roma, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via Frascati 33, Monte Porzio Catone, RM, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via Frascati 33, Monte Porzio Catone, RM, ItalyUniversità di Bologna , Bologna, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via Frascati 33, Monte Porzio Catone, RM, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via Frascati 33, Monte Porzio Catone, RM, ItalyAgenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) , Via del Politecnico snc, 00133, Rome, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste , Trieste, ItalyPolitecnico di Milano , Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Aerospaziali, Milano, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova , Padova, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova , Padova, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via Frascati 33, Monte Porzio Catone, RM, ItalyUniversità di Bologna , Bologna, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova , Padova, ItalyDepartment of Science and Technology, University of Naples “Parthenope,” Naples, ItalyAgenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) , Via del Politecnico snc, 00133, Rome, ItalyINAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri , Firenze, ItalyIFAC—Istituto di Fisica Applicata Nello Carrara , Sesto Fiorentino, ItalyUniversità di Bologna , Bologna, ItalyUniversità di Bologna , Bologna, ItalyPolitecnico di Milano , Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Aerospaziali, Milano, ItalyASI Space Science Data Center (ASI-SSDC) , Via del Politecnico snc, 00133, Rome, ItalyOn 2022 September 26 the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft collided with Dimorphos, the moon of the near-Earth asteroid 65803 Didymos, in a full-scale demonstration of a kinetic impactor concept. The companion Light Italian Cubesat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube) spacecraft documented the aftermath, capturing images of the expansion and evolution of the ejecta from 29 to 243 s after the impact. We present results from our analyses of these observations, including an improved reduction of the data and new absolute calibration, an updated LICIACube trajectory, and a detailed description of the events and phenomena that were recorded throughout the flyby. One notable aspect of the ejecta was the existence of clusters of boulders, up to 3.6 m in radius, that were ejected at speeds of up to 52 m s ^−1 . Our analysis of the spatial distribution of 104 of these boulders suggests that they are likely the remnants of larger boulders shattered by the DART spacecraft in the first stages of the impact. The amount of momentum contained in these boulders is more than 3 times that of the DART spacecraft, and it is directed primarily to the south, almost perpendicular to the DART trajectory. Recoil of Dimorphos from the ejection of these boulders has the potential to change its orbital plane by up to a degree and to impart a non-principal-axis component to its rotation state. Damping timescales for these phenomena are such that the Hera spacecraft, arriving at the system in 2026, should be able to measure these effects.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/addd1aCalibrationAsteroidsNear-Earth objectsAsteroid satellitesAsteroid dynamicsImpact phenomena |
| spellingShingle | Tony L. Farnham Jessica M. Sunshine Masatoshi Hirabayashi Carolyn M. Ernst R. Terik Daly Harrison F. Agrusa Olivier S. Barnouin Jian-Yang Li Kathryn M. Kumamoto Megan Bruck Syal Sean E. Wiggins Evan Bjonnes Angela M. Stickle Sabina D. Raducan Andrew F. Cheng David A. Glenar Ramin Lolachi Timothy J. Stubbs Eugene G. Fahnstock Marilena Amoroso Ivano Bertini John R. Brucato Andrea Capannolo Gabriele Cremonese Massimo Dall’Ora Vincenzo Della Corte J. D. P. Deshapriya Elisabetta Dotto Igor Gai Pedro H. Hasselmann Simone Ieva Gabriele Impresario Stavro L. Ivanovski Michèle Lavagna Alice Lucchetti Francesco Marzari Elena Mazzotta Epifani Dario Modenini Maurizio Pajola Pasquale Palumbo Simone Pirrotta Giovanni Poggiali Alessandro Rossi Paolo Tortora Marco Zannoni Giovanni Zanotti Angelo Zinzi High-speed Boulders and the Debris Field in DART Ejecta The Planetary Science Journal Calibration Asteroids Near-Earth objects Asteroid satellites Asteroid dynamics Impact phenomena |
| title | High-speed Boulders and the Debris Field in DART Ejecta |
| title_full | High-speed Boulders and the Debris Field in DART Ejecta |
| title_fullStr | High-speed Boulders and the Debris Field in DART Ejecta |
| title_full_unstemmed | High-speed Boulders and the Debris Field in DART Ejecta |
| title_short | High-speed Boulders and the Debris Field in DART Ejecta |
| title_sort | high speed boulders and the debris field in dart ejecta |
| topic | Calibration Asteroids Near-Earth objects Asteroid satellites Asteroid dynamics Impact phenomena |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/addd1a |
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