Anybody watching the DART impact? 7:15pm tonight

Johnnie

Ten Pointer
Launched Nov 2021, traveling at 14,000mph and will impact an asteroid that is about the size of a football stadium roughly 7 million miles from earth. Testing to see if an asteroid's trajectory can be altered.
 

NCST8GUY

Frozen H20 Guy
It is cool to me that within a few minutes of impact, it's all hands off. No commands from Earth will make it there in time.

Be even COOLER if the rock was suddenly seen opening up a large mouth with large teeth and was seen SWALLOWING our attempt to divert the rock!
 

mekanizm

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Launched Nov 2021, traveling at 14,000mph and will impact an asteroid that is about the size of a football stadium roughly 7 million miles from earth. Testing to see if an asteroid's trajectory can be altered.
Came in, saw this post, opened the link and 30 seconds later watched the IMPACT! Thanks!
 

NCST8GUY

Frozen H20 Guy
VERY cool images of BOTH asteroids! Incredible details!!!

Humans started this idea around 2015, 7 year later they apparently directly impacted a small asteroid far away from Earth. That is a remarkable accomplishment!

I guess now we wait to see if we diverted it's path?
 

Johnnie

Ten Pointer
VERY cool images of BOTH asteroids! Incredible details!!!

Humans started this idea around 2015, 7 year later they apparently directly impacted a small asteroid far away from Earth. That is a remarkable accomplishment!

I guess now we wait to see if we diverted it's path?
I read somewhere that there is another probe (?) to visually monitor the effects of the impact (plume, fracture, etc...), but I haven't heard anything about it on the live stream.

Edit, they just mentioned the other probe doing a flyby about 5 minutes or so after the impact. The images it takes won't be available until a day or so? Not sure why, probably due to using all resources to take pictures, process, and then send tomorrow.
 
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NCST8GUY

Frozen H20 Guy
Ready, aim, launch......... 14,000 mph, 10 months later nd 7 million miles away....... Bullseye. Pretty good shooters.
Totally understood that watching those scientists high 5 each other! Can't deny they probably accomplished more today than I did.
 

Johnnie

Ten Pointer
OK, "Harry Stamper" didn't make it back. But Bear and Rockhound did. OH, and AJ too.
 
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valetroutfisherman

Ten Pointer
Dang i just saw this and missed it live. Guess that what t get for getting my first cell camera, getting it logged in, tested and set up, and checking the phone app, pretty cool.

Anyhow, im watching it on youtube.
 

Tipmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
Hey...if nobody from the future comes back to prevent you from doing it, how bad can it really be?
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
What always strikes me about watching these type missions is how much it apparently means to the people in the room. They've spent years trying to get this probe to hit an asteroid as a test. What they achieved was to change the orbit of one asteroid around another. They didn't blow it up. Didn't actually send it in another direction. Just altered the orbit slightly. Based on their reaction, you would think they had indeed saved mankind from extinction. Were I a part of that program, I would no doubt react the same. But I suspect the average American shrugs their shoulders and says, "cool", and then forgets about it by next week.

I'm not trying to downplay the achievement - I can appreciate the significance of it. But dozens to hundreds of trained scientists spent years of their time and $325M U.S. taxpayer dollars to shift a rock slightly in space. To defend against a threat that, statistically speaking, will never come in a thousand lifetimes.

Cool.

Trying to put it in context - it's a dramatic achievement of mankind that makes absolutely zero difference in the lives of nearly all of mankind.
 

ellwoodjake

Twelve Pointer
What always strikes me about watching these type missions is how much it apparently means to the people in the room. They've spent years trying to get this probe to hit an asteroid as a test. What they achieved was to change the orbit of one asteroid around another. They didn't blow it up. Didn't actually send it in another direction. Just altered the orbit slightly. Based on their reaction, you would think they had indeed saved mankind from extinction. Were I a part of that program, I would no doubt react the same. But I suspect the average American shrugs their shoulders and says, "cool", and then forgets about it by next week.

I'm not trying to downplay the achievement - I can appreciate the significance of it. But dozens to hundreds of trained scientists spent years of their time and $325M U.S. taxpayer dollars to shift a rock slightly in space. To defend against a threat that, statistically speaking, will never come in a thousand lifetimes.

Cool.

Trying to put it in context - it's a dramatic achievement of mankind that makes absolutely zero difference in the lives of nearly all of mankind.
Exactly, the ONLY thing likely to come from this is a Gary Larson cartoon.
 
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