NASA tonight will launch his own armageddon. Okay, there are no well drillers or nuclear bombs, but the point is that they will try for the first time divert the trajectory of an asteroid. This is not a danger to the planet, but tests are better not done under pressure. And that is precisely the objective of the mission. dart. Rehearse and learn how to do it, to have the weapons ready when the moment of truth arrives.
The ship was launched on November 24, 2021, bound for Didymos and Dimorphosa pair of asteroids 780 and 160 meters in diameter respectivelywhich are 11 million kilometers from our planet.
DART’s main target is the smaller one, although Didymos will also play a very important role in the experiment. The impact is expected to take place around 23:15 UTC. That is, at 01:15, Spanish peninsular time and 18:15 in Mexico. Although the broadcast will start a little earlier and we will be able to see everything live.
What is the danger of an asteroid impact?
An asteroid impact is a real danger that scientists take very seriously. For this reason, there is continuous monitoring of what are known as near-Earth objects (NEOs). The objective is to observe their orbits and predict the probability they have of impact our planet. Thus, those that turn out to have a higher probability are observed in a more exhaustive way.
But what happens if the probability becomes greater and greater, becoming a real danger? As explained in an article for The Conversation radio astronomy professor Steven Tingay“an asteroid 25 meters in diameter could cause injury from an air blast explosion if it hits the atmosphere over a populated areaa”.
It is estimated that there may be 5 million objects with these characteristics in the solar system. But only about 0.4% has been discovered. If we ascend to the dimensions of Dimorphos, the losses would be very important.
Impact is unlikely, but the possibility is there. Therefore, solutions must be found. Today, the only thing that could be done is evacuate the impact area. In fact, even with other alternatives, if the object were discovered when it was already too close, the solution would still be that. Now, if it is within that percentage that has already been detected, more ingenious solutions could be programmed. One of them would be to divert the trajectory of the asteroid colliding with another object. This is something that has never been done before and that is where DART comes in.
DART: A movie mission
dart is a 500 kg shipdesigned to hit an asteroid at the right point and with the right force to deflect its trajectory.
Dimorphos has been chosen for his essay for two reasons. On the one hand, because there is no possibility that the fragments of the impact suppose a risk to the earthno matter how bad it goes. And, on the other, because being a binary system, of two asteroids, it is possible to know more exactly how the trajectory has been affected by observing the changes in the reflection of sunlight on them. Since they orbit each other, in 12-hour cycles, the change in trajectory could cause changes in this aspect that would be easily detected with the most powerful telescopes on Earth.
How can we see it?
Undoubtedly, this will be a historic event worth staying up a bit if we find ourselves in Spain.
NASA will start broadcasting it here at 00:00, Spanish peninsular time, and 17 in Mexico.
However, the impact will be about an hour later. Later, scientists from the dart mission they will make their statements about the results, which we hope will be successful. For reality to be a success, rehearsals should not disappoint. We will know soon.