EarthSky Community Photos

Submit your photo here. Comment or upvote on photo pages. Search via photographers' names. More improvements coming! To help, please donate.

Eliot Herman
Rio Hurtado Valley, Chile
10/16/2022
11:00 pm

Equipment Details:

iTelescope T72

Post-processing Details:

Photoshop of image stack

Image Details:

A manmade mini comet. Captured with iTelescope T17 and 72 The results of the DART probe impact on the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos. The impact ejecta resulted in a bright object with a primary tail and two other lobes emerging. The tail grew to and by October 8 a very bright tail was visible, but a week later on October 16th the tail has distinctly changed perhaps indicating it is fading and the dust is dispersing with the solar wind. Note the three lobed structure is faded by October 16th with the two minor lobes gone. It appears that the results of the impact are fading after three weeks much as a comet would fade after an outburst.