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Morphology of ejecta features from the impact on asteroid Dimorphos

Author

Listed:
  • Fabio Ferrari

    (Politecnico di Milano)

  • Paolo Panicucci

    (Politecnico di Milano)

  • Gianmario Merisio

    (Politecnico di Milano)

  • Carmine Giordano

    (Politecnico di Milano)

  • Mattia Pugliatti

    (Politecnico di Milano)

  • Jian-Yang Li

    (Sun Yat-sen University)

  • Eugene G. Fahnestock

    (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology)

  • Sabina D. Raducan

    (University of Bern)

  • Martin Jutzi

    (University of Bern)

  • Stefania Soldini

    (University of Liverpool)

  • Masatoshi Hirabayashi

    (Georgia Institute of Technology
    Auburn University)

  • Colby C. Merrill

    (Cornell University)

  • Patrick Michel

    (Laboratoire Lagrange
    The University of Tokyo)

  • Fernando Moreno

    (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, CSIC)

  • Gonzalo Tancredi

    (Facultad de Ciencias)

  • Jessica M. Sunshine

    (University of Maryland
    University of Maryland)

  • Jens Ormö

    (Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB), CSIC-INTA)

  • Isabel Herreros

    (Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB), CSIC-INTA)

  • Harrison Agrusa

    (Laboratoire Lagrange
    University of Maryland)

  • Ozgur Karatekin

    (Royal Observatory of Belgium)

  • Yun Zhang

    (University of Michigan)

  • Nancy L. Chabot

    (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)

  • Andrew F. Cheng

    (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)

  • Derek C. Richardson

    (University of Maryland)

  • Andrew S. Rivkin

    (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)

  • Adriano Campo Bagatin

    (IUFACyT—DFISTS. Universidad de Alicante)

  • Tony L. Farnham

    (University of Maryland)

  • Stavro Ivanovski

    (INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste)

  • Alice Lucchetti

    (INAF-OAPD, Astronomical Observatory of Padova)

  • Maurizio Pajola

    (INAF-OAPD, Astronomical Observatory of Padova)

  • Alessandro Rossi

    (IFAC-CNR)

  • Daniel J. Scheeres

    (University of Colorado Boulder)

  • Filippo Tusberti

    (INAF-OAPD, Astronomical Observatory of Padova)

Abstract

Hypervelocity impacts play a significant role in the evolution of asteroids, causing material to be ejected and partially reaccreted. However, the dynamics and evolution of ejected material in a binary asteroid system have never been observed directly. Observations of Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impact on asteroid Dimorphos have revealed features on a scale of thousands of kilometers, including curved ejecta streams and a tail bifurcation originating from the Didymos system. Here we show that these features result naturally from the dynamical interaction of the ejecta with the binary system and solar radiation pressure. These mechanisms may be used to constrain the orbit of a secondary body, or to investigate the binary nature of an asteroid. Also, they may reveal breakup or fission events in active asteroids, and help determine the asteroid’s properties following an impact event. In the case of DART, our findings suggest that Dimorphos is a very weak, rubble-pile asteroid, with an ejecta mass estimated to be in the range of (1.1-5.5)×107 kg.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabio Ferrari & Paolo Panicucci & Gianmario Merisio & Carmine Giordano & Mattia Pugliatti & Jian-Yang Li & Eugene G. Fahnestock & Sabina D. Raducan & Martin Jutzi & Stefania Soldini & Masatoshi Hiraba, 2025. "Morphology of ejecta features from the impact on asteroid Dimorphos," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-56551-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56551-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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