The NASA space collision will be streaming starting in the next 45 minutes (6 EST)

Here's how to watch it, should be interesting. 

https://www.space.com/nasa-dart-asteroid-impact-preview

Had no idea this was going on.  Very cool. 

-Rob

I've got the live stream up on my work computer. This thing is traveling over 4 miles/second. The target is estimated at 525' in diameter. Curious to see how much we can actually see. I know the mission isn't about the visual, but still. 

Also, imagine if they missed. 

Wow...that was mind-blowing. 

Those last images, holy crap!

Very cool.

Watch it was actually an alien space craft and we just started the first intergalactic war. 

TIL on GRM

Replay here, final approach is around 1h14m:

I'm surprised that approaching something about the length of a megayacht at the equivalent of mach 18 seemed so slow, I was expecting it would only be visible for a frame or two before impact. Is my math wrong?

In reply to bobzilla :

... that we know of.

In reply to bobzilla :

Nah, we just took the first shot in a game of intergalactic snooker. 

In reply to GameboyRMH :

I was thinking the same thing. 
 

Silly thoughts though, since it's all staged. 

oh, we weren't doing this?

Bullseye!

Silver Snoopys all around!

j_tso said:

oh, we weren't doing this?

 

I mean, from a physics perspective, it's exactly that. The entire fuel load available to the rocket was transferred to the asteroid. In the comic, the robot thing has plenty of fuel left after it does that. In real life, the rocket used up all of it's fuel to maximize velocity with respect to the asteroid, and used that momentum to see if it can change the trajectory. Since it's actually a super simple math problem at that point, assuming it hits center of mass, the results are Newtonian alone.

Reminds me  of this: https://what-if.xkcd.com/146/

See also:

 

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to bobzilla :

Nah, we just took the first shot in a game of intergalactic snooker. 

Does nobody remember the game Asteroids?  This is that!

So when do we find out how much the trajectory changed and by how much?

It will probably take about a month:

https://www.space.com/dart-asteroid-impact-when-well-know

I'm trying to imagine what it must be like to get a Billion dollars to build a rocket with the sole objective of crashing it into a space rock.  I have to say, it sounds like fun.

1988RedT2 said:

I'm trying to imagine what it must be like to get a Billion dollars to build a rocket with the sole objective of crashing it into a space rock.  I have to say, it sounds like fun.

Dave Barry used to say that it was obvious that NASA was run by women. Men would have tried to hit the moon with a Buick by now.

Well...

In the feed they mention they missed their mark by 15m, not bad for it being 100k km away.

preach (dudeist priest) said:

In the feed they mention they missed their mark by 15m, not bad for it being 100k km away.

One of you math guys work out that % for the Journalism guy.

Pics from LICIACube are out:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/27/world/nasa-dart-liciacube-images-scn/index.html

This article is saying it could take 2 months to see what effect it had.