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Didymos-Dimorphos System on October 11

A bright blue spot is at the left-center of the image, which has a black background. The spot is the Didymos-Dimorphos system after impact from the DART spacecraft. The center bright spot has 3 diffraction spikes extending from its core at the 1 o’clock, 7 o’clock, and 10 o’clock positions. There is a small amount of dusty haze just below the southern pole of the center dot. Two tails of ejecta that appear as white streams of material extend out from the center at the 2 o’clock and 3 o’clock positions.

Two tails of dust ejected from the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system are seen in new images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, documenting the lingering aftermath of the NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impact.

The DART spacecraft impacted Dimorphos, a small moonlet of Didymos, on Sept. 26 in a planetary defense test to change Dimorphos’ orbit by crashing into it.

Repeated observations from Hubble over the last several weeks have allowed scientists to present a more complete picture of how the system’s debris cloud has evolved over time. The observations show that the ejected material, or “ejecta,” has expanded and faded in brightness as time went on after impact, largely as expected. The twin tail is an unexpected development, although similar behavior is commonly seen in comets and active asteroids. The Hubble observations provide the best-quality image of the double-tail to date.

Following impact, Hubble made 18 observations of the system. Imagery indicates the second tail formed between Oct. 2 and Oct. 8.

In this image, DART impacted the Didymos-Dimorphos system from the 10 o’clock direction.

The relationship between the comet-like tail and other ejecta features seen at various times in images from Hubble and other telescopes is still unclear, and is something the Investigation Team is currently working to understand.

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    This image was created from HST data from proposal: 16674 (J. Li).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    WFC3/UVIS
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    11 Oct 2022
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F350LP
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Didymos-Dimorphos System
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) on asteroid Dimorphos
  • Release Date
    October 20, 2022
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Hubble Spots Twin Tails in New Image After DART Impact
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, STScI, Jian-Yang Li (PSI); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale

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A bright blue spot is at the left-center of the image, which has a black background. The spot is the Didymos-Dimorphos system after impact from the DART spacecraft. The center bright spot has 3 diffraction spikes extending from its core at the 1 o’clock, 7 o’clock, and 10 o’clock positions. There is a small amount of dusty haze just below the southern pole of the center dot. Two tails of ejecta that appear as white streams of material extend out from the center at the 2 o’clock and 3 o’clock positions.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

The images are separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. The color results from assigning a blue hue to a monochromatic (grayscale) image.

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

A bright blue spot is at the left-center of the image, which has a black background. The spot is the Didymos-Dimorphos system after impact from the DART spacecraft. The center bright spot has 3 diffraction spikes extending from its core at the 1 o’clock, 7 o’clock, and 10 o’clock positions. There is a small amount of dusty haze just below the southern pole of the center dot. Two tails of ejecta that appear as white streams of material extend out from the center at the 2 o’clock and 3 o’clock positions.

Didymos-Dimorphos System on October 11 (Compass)

Two tails of dust ejected from the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system are seen in new images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, documenting the lingering aftermath of the NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impact. At the top right of the image, there are arrows...

Two images blink back and forth between one another on a black background. On both, a bright blue spot appears at the center of the image. The spot is the Didymos-Dimorphos system after impact from the DART spacecraft. In the first frame, captured on October 8, the center bright spot has 3 diffraction spikes extending from its core at the 1 o’clock, 7 o’clock, and 10 o’clock positions. There is a small amount of dusty haze in the region surrounding the lower left of the core. Two tails of ejecta that appear as white streams of material extend out from the center at the 2 o’clock and 3 o’clock positions. There is a clump of dusty haze visible above the northern tail. In the second frame, captured on October 11, there are some small differences visible in the system. The dusty haze in the lower left below the core has shifted closer to true south. The haze above the northern tail has spread out.

Didymos-Dimorphos System on Oct 8 and 11, 2022

Two tails of dust ejected from the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system are seen in new images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, documenting the lingering aftermath of the NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impact. This video shows a progression of the...

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Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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