DOE OSTI · 3024679
Evidence of Recent Material Transport within a Binary Asteroid System
Abstract
Images acquired by the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) before its impact into Dimorphos—the moon of the Didymos binary asteroid system—unexpectedly reveal a set of discontinuous rays spanning the imaged surface. These albedo features are visible only after correcting for lighting differences, which normalize the effects of the pervasive boulders that cover the surface. Comparison to physical experiments and numerical simulations shows that these bright, fan-shaped albedo features are consistent with the aftermath of a low-velocity impact into a field of boulders and provide our first direct evidence for the transfer of material in a binary asteroid system due to the shedding material from radiative torques. Parts of these and possible additional albedo markings from the reentry of boulders after the DART impact may be visible to the Hera mission when it explores the post-DART Didymos system.
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Sunshine, Jessica M. [University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)] (ORCID:0000000294138785), Rizos, Juan L. [University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC), Granada (Spain)] (ORCID:0000000297891203), Barnouin, Olivier S. [Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD (United States). Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)] (ORCID:0000000235787750), Daly, Ronald Terik [Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD (United States). Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)] (ORCID:0000000213202985), Ernst, Carolyn M. [Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD (United States). Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)] (ORCID:0000000294347886), Farnham, Tony L. [University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)] (ORCID:0000000247679861), Agrusa, Harrison F. [Universite Cote d'Azur, Nice (France). Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur (OCA); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Nice (France). Laboratoire Joseph-Louis Lagrange (LAGRANGE)] (ORCID:000000023544298X), Wright, Esteban [University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)], Wiggins, Sean E. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)], Bruck Syal, Megan [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)], Stickle, Angela M. [Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD (United States). Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)] (ORCID:0000000276029120), Pearl, Jason M. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000253407272), Raskin, Cody D. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000329142240), Kumamoto, Kathryn M. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000204006333). 2026-03-06. Evidence of Recent Material Transport within a Binary Asteroid System. https://doi.org/10.3847/psj%2Fae3f27
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