NASA Tested, TUG Observed
The American Space and Aviation Administration (NASA) successfully carried out the "rehearsal to save the Earth", and the TÜBİTAK National Observatory (TUG) observed this moment second by second.
The vehicle that NASA sent into space last year collided with the asteroid as planned. NASA's mission to change the trajectory of an asteroid that may pose a threat to Earth in the future and to test planetary defense systems against comet hazards was carried out approximately 11 million kilometers from the earth. This mission, called the DART Mission, is thought to be an important step in the planet's defense strategy. For this mission, the 780-meter-diameter Didymos asteroid and its 170-meter-diameter moon Dimorphos, which are in the class of near-Earth objects, were selected. Launched on November 23, 2021, the spacecraft DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test - Double Asteroid Redirection Test) crashed into the celestial body Dimorphos in a planned manner at a speed of about 23 thousand kilometers per hour, after 10 months of space travel. This meteorite, which does not pose any threat to the world, will be followed for post-collision observation. The collision is a defense rehearsal against meteorites that may hit the Earth.
Sequential images taken with an exposure time of 20 seconds.
In Bakırlıtepe, at an altitude of 2,500 meters in Antalya Saklıkent, sequential images were taken with an exposure time of 20 seconds with the telescope, which has a 12-centimeter aperture, can make observations in the horizon region, and has a wide-area imaging feature. These images have been converted into a video. In the images, the progress of the Didymos asteroid and the brightening of the object when the DART vehicle hit the Dimorphos satellite and the rock and dust formations coming out of its surface were strikingly visible.
The high-resolution imager DRACO (Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical) on the DART vehicle helped DART reach its target binary and sent a photo per second to Earth until the moment it struck. In this way, size and shape analyzes of Dimorphos' satellite will be made in detail.
A 14-kilogram, Italian-made LICIACube nano-satellite, carried via DART and released into space a few days ago, will photograph and share images of the impact of DART and the dust cloud resulting from the impact, and the crater it created in Dimorphos in the coming days.
Under the influence of DART, ground-based telescopes will observe the Didymos asteroid to confirm the orbital change of Dimorphos.
TUG included in DART mission
The publication of the observations made by us on the TUG Occultation Portal (https://occultation.tug.tubitak.gov.tr/) on the same night attracted the attention of the NASA DART team. The team, who watched the images obtained during the DART mission, contacted the institute and asked the TUG to continue their observations for another 10 days. TUG, which is included in the DART mission observation mission, which can be monitored by few observatories in the world, will continue to make observations of the asteroid for 10 days.
From the orbital calculations, it will be observed whether the orbit of this object has changed and will be reported to NASA's DART team.
The vehicle NASA sent into space last year collided with the asteroid as planned. NASA's mission to change the orbit of an asteroid that may pose a threat to Earth in the future and to test planetary defense systems against comet dangers was carried out approximately 11 million kilometers from the earth. This mission, called the DART Mission, is thought to be an important step in the planet's defense strategy. This meteorite, which does not pose any threat to the world, will be followed for post-collision observation. The collision is a defense rehearsal against meteorites that may hit the Earth.
Under the influence of DART, ground-based telescopes will observe the Didymos asteroid to confirm the orbital change of Dimorphos. TUG was also one of the observation points.
https://dart.jhuapl.edu/Gallery/media/graphics/lg/22-04345_DART-Observing-Campaign.png
