For the first time, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope have taken simultaneous observations of the same target.
These images, Hubble on left and Webb on the right, show observations of the Didymos-Dimorphos system several hours after NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) intentionally impacted the moonlet asteroid. It was the world’s first test of the kinetic impact technique using a spacecraft to deflect an asteroid by modifying its orbit.
Both Webb and Hubble observed the asteroid before and after the collision took place.
Scientists will use the combined observations from Hubble and Webb to gain knowledge about the nature of the surface of Dimorphos, how much material was ejected by the collision, how fast it was ejected, and the distribution of particle sizes in the expanding dust cloud.
In the coming months, scientists will also use Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) to observe ejecta from Dimorphos further. Spectroscopic data will provide researchers with insight into the asteroid’s composition. Hubble will monitor Dimorphos ten more times over the next three weeks to monitor how the ejecta cloud expands and fades over time.
Hubble observations were conducted in one filter, WFC3/UVIS F350LP (assigned the color blue), while Webb observed at F070W (0.7 microns, assigned the color red).
NIRCam was built by a team at the University of Arizona and Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center.
Credits
Science
NASA, ESA, CSA, Jian-Yang Li (PSI), Cristina Thomas (Northern Arizona University), Ian Wong (NASA-GSFC)
Image Processing
Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Dimorphos |
| Object Description | Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) on asteroid Dimorphos |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | This image was created from HST data from proposal (J. Li) and JWST data from proposal: (C. Thomas). |
| Instrument | HST>WFC3/UVIS JWST>NIRCam |
| Exposure Dates | 26-27 Sept 2022 |
| Filters | HST>F350LP JWST>F070W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | The images are single exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope and the by the NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. The color results from assigning a blue hue to a monochromatic (grayscale) hubble image and a red hue to a monochromatic (grayscale) Webb image. Blue: HST>F350LP Red: JWST>F070W |
| Compass Image |  |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
