Will There Be A ‘Human-Made’ Meteor Shower?

The aftermath of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) mission could lead to the creation of the first human-made meteor shower. This historic event stems from a collision that occurred in September 2022, when the DART spacecraft deliberately crashed into Dimorphos, a small moonlet orbiting the asteroid Didymos. The mission aimed to test and refine asteroid deflection technology.

According to recent findings, the impact generated more than 2 million pounds of rocky debris and dust. A new study indicates that fragments from Dimorphos could eventually reach Earth and Mars, potentially producing meteor showers that may persist for up to a century.

Eloy Peña Asensio, a researcher with the Deep-space Astrodynamics Research and Technology group at Italy’s Polytechnic University of Milan said, “Once the first particles reach Mars or Earth, they could continue to arrive intermittently and periodically for at least the next 100 years, which is the duration of our calculations.”

These fragments could also create spectacular visual displays. "The debris may produce visible meteors, commonly known as shooting stars, as they enter the Martian atmosphere," Asensio added. However, he reassured that the particles, ranging in size from grains of sand to smartphones, pose no threat to the Earth’s surface.

The study utilized data captured by a small satellite that detached from the DART spacecraft prior to the impact. This satellite provided crucial footage of the collision and the resulting debris cloud, enabling detailed analysis by Asensio and his team.

By simulating the trajectories of approximately 3 million debris particles and considering the gravitational influences of Didymos, Dimorphos, the sun, and other planets, the researchers concluded that debris ejected at speeds of around 1,118 miles per hour could reach Mars. Meanwhile, smaller, faster particles traveling at speeds of up to 3,579 miles per hour might reach Earth in less than a decade.