Attacked by NASA. Scientists have revealed the secret of origin of asteroid Dimorph (photo)

Astronomers learned how the famous asteroid appeared, into which the Dart apparatus was crashing. Last September, the Dart spacecraft collided with asteroid Mimorph, which is a companion of the larger asteroid Didim. NASA wanted to check whether it is possible to change the asteroid flight trajectories with the help of spacecraft if they threaten the land. The result of the experiment exceeded all the expectations of scientists.

Now, according to a study published on the ARXIV server, astronomers have found out how Drizhur appeared. As the results of scientific work show, the asteroid was most likely part of Didim, writes Universe Today. In focus. Technology has appeared its Telegram channel.

Subscribe not to miss the latest and most intrusive news from the world of science! When the DART apparatus fell on the asteroid Drizhirf, a cloud of debris from dust of gaseous material, where sodium and potassium were detected, flew into space. This cloud flew into space in a few minutes and scattered. Also, after the impact, a second cloud was formed from the debris, which was stored near the asteroids for several months after DART.

Scientists observed during the week this cloud and found that the characteristics of the fragments of asteroid Dimorph coincide with the composition of asteroid Didim. That is, both asteroids consist of the same substance - silicon and oxygen or silicate compounds. This discovery was made on the basis of observations of reflected light. Before the DART apparatus collided with asteroid Drizhirf, only 5% of the reflected light of the double asteroid system came from this stone.

That is, the light from the asteroid Didim overshadowed a smaller neighbor, so it was difficult to obtain clear spectral characteristics of the composition of Drizhrif. But after the impact, the reflected asteroid system became much brighter, with more than 60% of all the reflected light came from a cloud of debris. This made it possible to study the composition of this cloud. Scientists have found that a cloud of debris consists of heavy and large stones, as the solar wind removed smaller stones.

But this does not correspond to the composition of the surface of the asteroid Didim, which is considered to be mainly of small stones.

If both asteroids consist of the same material, then how were they separated from each other? According to scientists, asteroids with a diameter of less than a few tens of kilometers can be destroyed, since their rapid rotation creates tension in their weak inner strength, resulting in their release material into space, it accumulates and forms a satellite in the orbit of space stone. Scientists believe that this is what happened to asteroid Didim.

Moreover, the shape of this stone indicates that the destruction and release of the material still occurred. Therefore, scientists believe that Didima was part of the asteroid Didim in the past and formed several thousand years ago. According to Focus, the European Space Agency is preparing for departure to the asteroid Drizhirf Sound to study the gravity of this stone.