The James Webb and Hubble telescopes recorded the collision of the DART probe with an asteroid

This week, the kamikaze space probe Double Asteroid Rendezvous Test (DART) crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos. Behind

The collision was observed by James Webb and Hubble.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) released photographs taken by the two telescopes.

What is known

Andy Rivkin, Head of MissionDART, said that James Webb and Hubble were able to photograph the same space object for the first time in history. Scientists note that the new James Webb telescope used instruments for shooting in infrared light, while Hubble photographed the visible part of the spectrum.

After a kamikaze probe collided with an asteroidan explosion occurred, in the center of which an increased level of brightness was observed for several hours. Also on the frames taken by telescopes, plumes of ejected matter are visible.

With the help of DART, NASA for the first time in historytested planetary protection. The space probe was supposed to reduce Dimorph's orbital time around a larger asteroid. However, scientists still do not know how the collision affected the trajectory of the cosmic body. Experts hope that the orbital time will be reduced by 10 minutes, although a reduction of 73 seconds will be considered a success of the mission.