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A recent study shows that a plume of debris produced by NASA\u2019s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission\u2019s impact on Dimorphos in 2022, could reach Mars and Earth within 7 years, creating a new meteor shower.<\/strong><\/p>\n A new study conducted dynamical simulations of over 3 million particles released due to the impact of DART on Dimorphos on September 26, 2022, shows that the impact of ejecta might reach Earth.<\/p>\n According to scientists, the debris is small in size and poses no risk to Earth at this time. The particles observed in the study were classified into three size categories: 10 cm (3.9 inches), 0.5 cm (0.2 inches), and 30 \u03bcm (0.0012 inches). The main simulation explored ejecta velocities ranging from 1 to 1 000 m\/s (3 to 3 281 ft\/s), while a secondary simulation focused on faster ejecta with velocities from 1 to 2 km\/s (0.6 to 1.2 mps).<\/p>\n The study shows that ejecta with launch velocities around 450 m\/s (1 476 ft\/s) could reach the Mars Hill sphere in 13 years, which is within the observed range. Some ejecta particles launched at 770 m\/s (2 526 ft\/s) could reach Mars\u2019s vicinity in 7 years. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, ejecta with velocities above 1.5 km\/s (1 mps) resulted in a higher flux delivery towards Mars and particles could reach Earth\u2019s Hill sphere. The delivery process is slightly sensitive to the initial observed cone range and driven by synodic periods.<\/p>\n According to the study, the particles that could impact Mars were predominantly in the northern regions of DART\u2019s impact site meanwhile the smaller particles are more likely to reach Earth.<\/p>\n The very largest of these meteoroids would only be the size of a softball. They would be certain to burn up in Earth\u2019s atmosphere, although they might make it through the thinner Martian atmosphere.<\/p>\n Scientists estimated more than 900 000 kg (2 million pounds) of rocks and dust were produced due to DART\u2019s impact and they could produce visible meteors by penetrating the Martian atmosphere. This could last periodically for at least the next 100 years.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce the first particles reach Mars or Earth, they could continue to arrive intermittently and periodically for at least the next 100 years, which is the duration of our calculations,\u201d Eloy Pe\u00f1a Asensio, a researcher for the\u00a0Deep-space Astrodynamics Research and Technology\u00a0group at Italy\u2019s Polytechnic University of Milan.<\/p>\n \u201cThis material could produce visible meteors (commonly called shooting stars) as they penetrate the Martian atmosphere,\u201d Asensio added.<\/p>\n \u201cOur results indicate the possibility of ejecta reaching the gravitational field of Mars in 13 years for launch velocities around 450 m\/s, while faster ejecta launched at 770 m\/s could reach its vicinity in just seven years. Particles moving above 1.5 km\/s could reach the\u00a0Earth-Moon system in a similar timescale,\u201d Asensio said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were amazed to discover that it is possible for some centimetre-sized particles to reach the Earth-Moon system and produce a new meteor shower,\u201d study\u2019s co-author Josep M. Trigo-Rodr\u00edguez from the Spanish\u00a0Institute of Space Sciences\u00a0(CSIC\/IEEC) said.<\/p>\n DEBRIS FROM #DART<\/a> IMPACT COULD REACH EARTH: New post by @esa<\/a> #SpaceSafety<\/a> echoing our @ice_csic<\/a> @CSIC<\/a> @IEEC_space<\/a> research work on the dynamic study of the rocks launched by #DART<\/a> impact excavation in asteroid #Dimorphos<\/a>. https:\/\/t.co\/1oCmQki7nQ\n
Article: pic.twitter.com\/lKT5kiMeYC<\/a><\/p>\n