NASAのDARTミッションの画像が、二重小惑星系における小惑星が低速の破片を通じて物質を交換するという初めての直接的な視覚証拠を提供した。ディモルフォスという小惑星の月に現れた薄い筋は、親小惑星ディディモスからの破片が日光による自転の影響でそこに到達したことを示唆している。この発見は地球近傍小惑星の動的な性質を強調する。
2022年、NASAのDouble Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)探査機が、ディディモスの月であるディモルフォスに意図的に衝突した。衝突直前に撮影された画像の詳細な解析により、ディモルフォスの表面に明るい扇状の筋が明らかになった。これらの痕跡は、ディディモスからその伴星への最近の物質移動を示している。
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NASA's Artemis II crew became the first humans in over 50 years to loop around the moon's far side on April 6, traveling farther from Earth than any before them. The astronauts captured unprecedented views, including close-ups of craters and a unique solar eclipse. They are now heading back for a splashdown off California on April 10.
Astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II mission observed as many as six flashes on the far side of the moon. The flashes came from small meteorites impacting the lunar surface. The impacts produced brief bursts of light visible from thousands of kilometers away.
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New computer simulations indicate that a massive ancient collision created the Moon's South Pole-Aitken Basin and scattered deep mantle material across areas eyed for future Artemis landings.
Researchers have identified an unknown compound absorbing specific wavelengths of light on both Saturn's moon Titan and the dwarf planet Pluto. The finding comes from data collected by the James Webb Space Telescope.
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Astronomers have identified the source of unusual X-rays from the bright star gamma-Cas as a hidden white dwarf companion siphoning material from it. High-resolution data from the XRISM space mission confirmed that the emissions arise from matter heating up as it falls onto the unseen star. The discovery ends a puzzle that has intrigued scientists since the 1970s.
NASA's Artemis 2 four astronauts are approaching the Moon, with the mission's climax set for Monday's flyby of its far side, the first since Apollo 8 58 years ago. They may view regions never seen by human eyes, such as Mare Orientale. The crew will set a new record for distance from Earth.