MSGID: 1:153/757.0 d9eb8706   
   TZUTC: -0700   
   CHRS: LATIN-1 2   
                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our   
         fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation   
                       written by a professional astronomer.   
      
                                 2022 September 27   
      
                        DART: Impact on Asteroid Dimorphos   
                         Video Credit: NASA, JHUAPL, DART   
      
      Explanation: Could humanity deflect an asteroid headed for Earth? Yes.   
      Deadly impacts from large asteroids have happened before in Earth's   
      past, sometimes causing mass extinctions of life. To help protect our   
      Earth from some potential future impacts, NASA tested a new planetary   
      defense mechanism yesterday by crashing the robotic Double Asteroid   
      Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft into Dimorphos, a small asteroid   
      spanning about 170-meters across. As shown in the featured video, the   
      impact was a success. Ideally, if impacted early enough, even the kick   
      from a small spacecraft can deflect a large asteroid enough to miss the   
      Earth. In the video, DART is seen in a time-lapse video first passing   
      larger Didymos, on the left, and then approaching the smaller   
      Dimorphos. Although the video ends abruptly with DART's crash,   
      observations monitoring the changed orbit of Dimorphos -- from   
      spacecraft and telescopes around the world -- have just begun.   
      
                          Tomorrow's picture: furious sky   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
                   NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices   
                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
   --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6   
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)   
   SEEN-BY: 1/19 123 15/0 16/0 19/10 37 90/1 105/81 106/201 120/340 123/130   
   SEEN-BY: 123/131 129/305 134/100 153/135 757 7715 203/0 218/700 840   
   SEEN-BY: 221/1 6 242 360 227/114 229/110 111 112 113 206 317 400 424   
   SEEN-BY: 229/426 428 470 664 700 240/5832 266/512 280/5003 5006 282/1038   
   SEEN-BY: 301/1 317/3 320/119 219 319 322/0 757 335/364 341/66 342/200   
   SEEN-BY: 396/45 423/81 460/58 633/280 712/848 4500/1   
   PATH: 153/757 221/6 1 320/219 229/426