Spectroscopic insights into the near-earth didymos-dimorphos binary system following the double asteroid redirection test (DART) mission impact
On 26th September 2022, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission actively impacted the small moon Dimorphos of the Didymos-Dimorphos binary asteroid system. The impact caused a variation of about 33 minutes in its orbital period around Didymos and demonstrated the feasibility of moving an asteroid in space. As part of an international observing campaign devoted to its physical characterization, in this work we investigate the visible spectral properties of the Didymos-Dimorphos system soon after the impact. Rotationally-resolved spectra have been obtained 25 days after the impact and two months later. Geometric investigations have been performed to look for the source region corresponding to each spectrum. Here we show an overall agreement with pre-impact spectra and S-type classification despite subtle variations emerging, possibly correlated with mutual events. Furthermore a small long term color evolution from October to December spectra tentatively interpreted as related to dust cloud grain size effects or alternatively attributed to an uneven deposition of freshly exposed material from the impact on Didymos.
Authors
- Masatoshi Hirabayashi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1821-5689)
- Marilena Amoroso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2603-165X)
- Elisa Frattin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6428-4055)
- P. Ochner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5578-8614)
- Jian‐Yang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3841-9977)
- Dagmara Oszkiewicz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5356-6433)
- Patrick Michel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0884-1993)
- Fiorangela La Forgia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3924-1867)
- M. Lazzarin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7976-2339)
- N. L. Chabot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8628-3176)
- Michael Kueppers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5666-8582)
- A. Farina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5257-8319)
- Stefan Geier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9456-8358)
- Theodore Kareta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1008-7499)
- Marcel Popescu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8585-204X)
- Stephan Ulamec (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8856-4622)
- J. de León (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0696-0411)
- A. S. Rivkin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9939-9976)
- Ian Carnelli
- A. Migliorini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7386-9215)
- A. Mura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5174-7765)
- Eleonora Ammannito
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Planetary Science Institute (US)
- Georgia Institute of Technology (US)
- University of Padua (IT)
- Université Côte d'Azur (FR)
- Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (IT)
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (US)
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (US)
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) (DE)
- European Space Astronomy Centre (ES)
- Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IT)
- Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (FR)
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (ES)
- Gran Telescopio Canarias (Spain) (ES)
- Institute of Space Science - INFLPR Subsidiary (RO)
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (ES)
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova (IT)
- European Space Research and Technology Centre (NL)
- Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (PL)
- Villanova University (US)
- National Institute for Astrophysics (IT)
- University of Craiova (RO)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-12-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67242-1
- Primary Topic
- Astro and Planetary Science
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00