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Webb View of Dimorphos Ejecta (NIRCam)

On a black background, a bright red spot appears at the center of the image. The spot, which is the asteroid Didymos-Dimorphos system after impact from DART, has 8 diffraction spikes extending out from its center. Also surrounding the asteroid is a haze of bright light with wispy tendrils extending outwards.

This image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument shows Dimorphos, the asteroid moonlet in the double-asteroid system of Didymos, about 4 hours after NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) made impact. A tight, compact core and plumes of material appearing as wisps streaming away from the center of where the impact took place, are visible in the image. Those sharp points are Webb’s distinctive eight diffraction spikes, an artifact of the telescope’s structure.

These observations, when combined with data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, will allow scientists to gain knowledge about the nature of the surface of Dimorphos, how much material was ejected by the collision, and how fast it was ejected.

In the coming months, scientists will use Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) to observe ejecta from Dimorphos further. Spectroscopic data will also provide researchers with insight into the asteroid’s chemical composition.

The observations shown here were conducted in the filter F070W (0.7 microns) and assigned the color red.

NIRCam was built by a team at the University of Arizona and Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center.

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 JWST data from proposal: 1245 (C. Thomas)

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    JWST>NIRCam
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    26-27 Sept 2022
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    JWST>F070W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Dimorphos
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) on asteroid Dimorphos
  • Release Date
    September 29, 2022
  • Science Release
    Webb, Hubble Capture Detailed Views of DART Impact
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, CSA, Cristina Thomas (Northern Arizona University), Ian Wong (NASA-GSFC); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Downloads

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    png (1.62 MB)
On a black background, a bright red spot appears at the center of the image. The spot, which is the asteroid Didymos-Dimorphos system after impact from DART, has 8 diffraction spikes extending out from its center. Also surrounding the asteroid is a haze of bright light with wispy tendrils extending outwards.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

The image is a single exposure acquired by the NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. The color results from assigning a red hue to a monochromatic (grayscale) image.  Red: JWST>F070W

Related Images & Videos

Image is three columns, each column is a photo with a black background, a bright blue spot is at center. In the panel column all the way to the left, noted as 22 minutes after impact, the center bright spot only has a small amount of dusty haze and only a few spikes closely surrounding it.In the middle column, noted as 5 hours after impact, the haze around the blue dot has expanded wider out with additional spikes and haze.In the column to the left, noted as 8.2 hours after impact, the haze around the blue dot spreads even further, with wisps expanding to the bottom left of the image.

Hubble Views of Dimorphos Ejecta

These images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, taken 22 minutes, 5 hours, and 8.2 hours after NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) intentionally impacted Dimorphos, show expanding plumes of ejecta from the asteroid’s body. This event was the world’s first test of the...

Image is two columns, the column on the left is a photo with a black background and a bright blue spot at the center, labeled as Hubble. There is a bright haze around the dot, which is the Didymos-Dimorphos system, along with 5 diffraction spikes extending outward. The photo on the right is a black background with a bright red spot toward the middle of the image. The spot, which is the asteroid the Didymos-Dimorphos system after impact from DART, has 8 diffraction spikes extending out from its center. Also surrounding the asteroid is a haze of bright light with wispy tendrils extending outwards.

Hubble/Webb Side-by-Side of Dimorphos Ejecta

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...

Image is two columns, the column on the left is a photo with a black background and a bright blue spot at the center, labeled as Hubble. There is a bright haze around the dot, along with 5 diffraction spikes extending outward. The photo on the right is a black background with a bright red spot toward the middle of the image. The spot has 8 diffraction spikes extending out from its center and a haze of bright light with wispy tendrils extending outwards. At the top right of the image, there are arrows indicating the direction of impact by the DART spacecraft. The direction of impact arrow points in the 5 o’clock direction. The to Sun arrow points in the 8 o’clock direction. At the bottom right are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The north arrow points in the 2 o’clock direction. The east arrow points in the 10 o’clock direction.In the top left corner of each image are the filters used to create the image. For Hubble, F350LP is blue. For Webb, F070W is red.

Hubble/Webb Side-by-Side (WFC3/NIRCam Compass Image)

Image is two columns, the column on the left is a photo with a black background and a bright blue spot at the center, labeled as Hubble. There is a bright haze around the dot, which is the Didymos-Dimorphos system, along with 5 diffraction spikes extending outward. The photo on...

On a black background, a bright blue spot is at center. A smoke-like feature starts emitting from the blue spot on the left side, as the asteroid is impacted by the spacecraft.

Hubble Time-Lapse of Dimorphos Ejecta

This animated gif combines three of the images NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured after NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) intentionally impacted Dimorphos, a moonlet asteroid in the double asteroid system of Didymos. The animation spans from 22 minutes after...

On a black background, a bright spot appears on the edge of the top right, with only 5 diffraction spikes show on its top, bottom and left side. The spot appears to get larger with many spikes of light emitting from it, as the asteroid is impacted by the spacecraft. Afterward, wisps of material stream away to lower left.

Webb Time-Lapse of Dimorphos Ejecta

This animation features a time-lapse of images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope showing the aftermath of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) intentionally slamming into the moonlet asteroid Dimorphos. This animation covers the time spanning just before impact at...

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Last Updated
Mar 11, 2025
Contact
Media

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

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