(WWJ) – On Monday millions of Americans tuned in as NASA tried to slam a spacecraft into an asteroid in an attempt to divert its orbit. We watched as scientists cheered when successful impact was made.
No, this isn’t the plot of the 1998 hit movie “Armageddon.”
Well, actually, it is. That’s the exact plot. But this was real life, and it was just a test to see if we’d be capable of diverting an Earthbound asteroid.
Luckily, this asteroid – known as Dimorphos – wasn’t ever threatening to slam into our planet, but it could hold some key discoveries for the future.
On this week’s edition of “All Over the Space,” WWJ’s Erin Vee spoke with Mike Murray of the Delta College Planetarium in Bay City about NASA’s historic moment on Monday.
Murray says while the first part of the mission made successful impact, it will be a while until we know just how effective it was.
“This is actually a double asteroid – it has a tiny, little moonlit asteroid, if you will, that’s only about 500 feet across. And so even though the spacecraft is only about 1,200 lbs., it would be enough to just very slightly alter its orbit around its parent asteroid.”
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He says astronomers will now be watching to see just how much the impact altered the asteroid’s trajectory.
“And that is a great way to test and see if this is a viable way of deflecting an asteroid in case we find one that is on a collision course with Earth.”
It could take several weeks or months until astronomers get their answer.
He also talked about how NASA detects potentially Earth-threatening asteroids, and how the new James Webb Space Telescope may play a role, as well as upcoming events at the planetarium.
More information on the Delta College Planetarium in Bay City can be found online. Follow the planetarium on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.
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