The agency's planetary defense prototype seems to have generated a bit of cosmic chaos.
about space rock impacts and how, exactly, a futuristic Earth defense mechanism might work one day.
And on Thursday , NASA announced that DART has provided us with some intriguing information yet again from beyond the grave. By tapping into thepowerful optics, astronomers found that the probe's impact on Dimorphos – which occurred while it flew at about 14,000 mph – produced a"swarm of boulders." And it's possible, the agency says, that these shards came from the asteroid target itself.
However, to be clear, a press release on these results points out that the boulders were likely not shattered away from Dimorphos as a result of DART's collision, but rather that they already existed on the surface of the asteroid and were merely dispersed upon impact. In fact,of the asteroid prior to its demise, taken two seconds before impact, shows such mini-rocks and debris already present on Dimorphos.
According to NASA's statement, the boulders' ejection could've either been due to what's known as an ejecta plume produced by the collision, or a seismic wave that shook them off. This high-resolution view of Dimorphos was created with images taken by DART during its trajectory toward the asteroid's surface.
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