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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Science
Richard Luscombe in Miami

Nasa releases images of ‘planetary defense test’ as spacecraft crashed into asteroid

Photographs were combined into two colorful timelapse animations showing the spacecraft’s approach, and then the brightness of the moment of collision.
Photographs were combined into two colorful timelapse animations showing the spacecraft’s approach, and then the brightness of the moment of collision. Photograph: ESA/Webb/AFP/Getty Images

Nasa has released the first detailed images of its pioneering deep-space “planetary defense test” in which a spacecraft was crashed into a distant asteroid in an attempt to alter its trajectory.

The pictures were taken by what the agency calls its “two great observatories”, the James Webb and Hubble space telescopes, which captured Monday’s impact on Dimorphos, moon of the asteroid Didymos, 6.8m miles from Earth.

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