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Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), two teams of astronomers have observed the aftermath of the collision between NASA’s
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft and the asteroid Dimorphos. The controlled impact was a test of planetary
defence, but also gave astronomers a unique opportunity to learn more about the asteroid’s composition from the expelled
material.
On 26 September 2022 the DART spacecraft collided with the asteroid Dimorphos in a controlled test of our asteroid deflection capabilities.
The impact took place 11 million kilometres away from Earth, close enough to be observed in detail with many telescopes. All four 8.2-metre
telescopes of ESO’s VLT in Chile observed the aftermath of the impact, and the first results of these VLT observations have now been
published in two papers.