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Last year, NASA made history by completing the DART (Double Asteroid Reorientation Test) mission and A small spacecraft crashes into the asteroid Dimorphos. Now, a strange discovery has turned astronomers’ eyes back to the Didymos system. New research indicates that the asteroid Didymus, parent of Dimorphos, could catapult rocks into space with each spin.
The astronomers behind the new discovery say it is spinning so fast that the asteroid Didymus may be able to shoot a stream of debris into the space around it. This revelation raises new questions about the solidity of asteroids.
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It’s easy, after all, to look at asteroids and think of them as completely solid bodies. While we know asteroids can be made up of tons of smaller, less solid stuff, this is the first time we’ve detected an asteroid like Didymos flinging real rocks into space.
It offers a unique perspective on asteroids — which, for the longest time, seemed like monotonous, stagnant boulders zipping through space. However, based on the discovery that Didymus may be releasing substances into space, scientists can learn more about the dynamic nature of these celestial bodies.
What’s more, the discovery could lead to new discoveries about how Dimorphos, Didymos’ younger companion – and last year’s DART target – came to be. The popular belief is that the asteroid Didymos was lonely at first. However, it spun so quickly that it spit out enough material to produce Dimorphos.
Of course, proving all this is another matter entirely. But as astronomers continue to monitor Didymus in the future, we can find more clues about the possible outpouring of rocks that the asteroid shoots into the space around it.
For now, a study on this finding can be found at magazine direct science.
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