We call them shooting stars, but they are actually meteors that create dazzling streaks of light in our night sky.
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, which took place nearly two years ago and successfully changed the trajectory of the asteroid Dimorphos, may have inadvertently set the stage for the first man-made meteor shower.
A new study published in the Planetary Science Journal suggests that millions of fragments created in the collision could be on a trajectory close to Earth, triggering a potentially unique meteor shower.
The fragments pose no threat to the planet, as most pieces are estimated to be less than ten centimeters long, but are moving at around 4,800 kilometers per hour.
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If just one of the estimated three million particles were to approach the Earth, it would probably burn up in the atmosphere and not even reach the size needed to create the appearance of a shooting star.
Simulations show that some pieces could whizz past Earth in about seven years, but the arrival of the main display could take decades or longer.
“Larger particles have a slightly higher probability of reaching Mars, while smaller particles are more likely to reach Earth or the Moon, although this effect is insignificant,” the study authors explained.
Asteroid Dimorphos, photographed by NASA’s DART spacecraft, seconds before impact.
(NASA / JHUAPL / NASA)
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Until the actual event begins, space experts aren’t sure how it will compare to the nearly a dozen other events that skywatchers mark on their calendars each year.
Other important meteor showers include the Quadrantids, Lyrids, Eta Aquarids, Delta Aquarids, Perseids, Orionids, Leonids, Geminids and Ursids.
The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch a mission called “Hera” to study the effects of the DART mission on the asteroid Didymos.
ESA said the data provided by the spacecraft will provide valuable insights into the impact of deflection missions on asteroids.
“Overall, the DART and Hera missions provide a unique opportunity to study the transmission of impact ejecta to other celestial bodies and provide valuable insights into impact dynamics and the possible recording of meteors produced by DART,” the study says.
DART and LICIACube on a graphic with the double asteroid system Didymos and Dimorphos. (Image: NASA/ JHUAPL)
(NASA)
