Boulder Storm ‘as Deadly as Hiroshima’ Accidentally Unleashed by NASA During Asteroid Test
In a groundbreaking planetary defense mission last year, NASA unintentionally released a boulder swarm as destructive as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, discovered that 37 boulders, reaching up to 22 feet in width, scattered from the surface of the moonlet Dimorphos after a spacecraft collided with it. The mission, called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), aimed to alter the path of the moonlet in case of an asteroid threat towards Earth. Although successful in its objective, the consequences of the test were unforeseen. The team expressed concerns that smaller rocks flying off into space could pose significant problems.
According to the scientists, even a 15-foot boulder impacting Earth would generate the same amount of energy as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II. The University of California, Los Angeles team likened the swarm of space rocks to expanding shrapnel, comparable to a hand grenade, hurtling through space at speeds of 13,000 miles per hour. Although none of the debris is currently on a collision course with Earth, scientists are cautious about the potential impact of a future boulder storm resulting from an asteroid deflection, which could strike our planet at the same velocity as the asteroid itself, causing immense damage.
The launch of the DART spacecraft in 2022 aimed to redirect Dimorphos from its orbit around its parent asteroid, Didymos. On September 26, observers witnessed the DART spacecraft accelerating at 15,000 miles per hour towards Dimorphos, successfully altering its orbit from 11 hours and 55 minutes to 11 hours and 23 minutes post-impact. Determined as a triumph, DART is now championed as a protective measure against catastrophic asteroid collisions.
Leading a new study, UCLA astronomer David Jewitt explained, “Due to the shared speed between the targeted asteroid and the large boulders, they are capable of inflicting damage on their own.” Dimorphos was never a threat to Earth, but NASA chose it as the test target due to its proximity of six million miles. This distance presented enough interest for study purposes while avoiding implications of unintended consequences, as now discovered by UCLA.
Using images captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in December 2022, the team identified 37 boulders that were dislodged from the surface of Dimorphos. These rocks were likely propelled off by the shock from the impact. A close-up photo taken by DART seconds before the collision mirrored the number and size of boulders seen by the Hubble telescope. Dimorphos was adorned with boulders before being redirected, measuring up to 22 feet in width.
The UCLA researchers consider these boulders, some of the faintest objects ever observed within the solar system, accessible for detailed study thanks to the powerful capabilities of the Hubble telescope. Jewitt said, “By tracking these boulders in future Hubble observations, we may obtain enough data to determine their precise trajectories…and discover the directions and methods by which they were launched from the surface.” The team concludes that these boulders were either launched from the impact site or expelled by seismic activity.
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