DART images reveal asteroids can toss slow ‘cosmic snowballs’ between moons

TL;DR


Summary:
- This article discusses new images captured by the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, which reveal that asteroids can unexpectedly toss smaller objects, like "cosmic snowballs," between their moons.
- The DART spacecraft intentionally collided with the asteroid Dimorphos in 2022, and the resulting images show that the impact caused Dimorphos to eject a significant amount of material, some of which ended up orbiting the asteroid's larger companion, Didymos.
- This discovery is important for understanding the complex dynamics of asteroid systems and how they can interact with each other, which has implications for future asteroid deflection and exploration missions.

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