Optical Characterization of the DART Impact Plume: Importance of Realistic Ejecta Scattering Properties

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Lolachi_2023_Planet._Sci._J._4_24.pdf (2.08 MB)

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https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/aca968

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https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/aca968
 http://hdl.handle.net/11603/26936

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UMBC Center for Space Sciences and Technology (CSST) / Center for Research and Exploration in Space Sciences & Technology II (CRSST II)
UMBC Faculty Collection

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Author/Creator ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5764-7639
 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2155-3854

Date

2023-02-06

Type of Work

journal articles
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Citation of Original Publication

Lolachi, Ramin, et al. "Optical Characterization of the DART Impact Plume: Importance of Realistic Ejecta Scattering Properties" The Planetary Science Journal 4, no. 2 (06 Feb, 2023). https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/aca968.

Rights

This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
Public Domain Mark 1.0

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Abstract

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission will impact the moon Dimorphos of the (65803) Didymos binary and demonstrate the kinetic impactor technique for planetary defense. Observations from the ride-along CubeSat companion, LICIACube, of the spatial structure and temporal evolution of the resulting ejecta plume will help determine the vector momentum transfer and constrain physical properties such as strength and porosity. The optical scattering properties of the ejecta particles used in plume simulations will dictate the critical relation between observed brightness and inferred ejecta mass (and momentum). Here we examine the scattering behavior of plausible analogs for Dimorphos ejecta particles, including laboratory-measured “millimeter grains” selected based on a comparison with Bennu particle photometry. Over the range of phase angles observable by LICIACube (120°), brightness simulations for optical depths ranging from 0.01 to 10 show that scattering from these analogs is considerably dimmer than from grains scattering isotropically. Therefore, adopting realistic scattering properties for ejecta particles is critical for accurately interpreting and understanding observations of the DART impact.