Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2022

7 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022 ASTRO PUBLISHING P re-impact im- ages of Didy- mos, taken with the Discovery Channel Tele- scope at Lowell Observatory, showing its mo- tion in the sky. The white arrows point to four ad- ditional asteroids whose motion is slow but percep- tible. [Lowell Observatory, as- tronomer Nick Moskowitz’s hand] T his extraordinary series was recorded by Tim Lister using the 1-meter telescope at the South Africa Astronomical Observatory, SAAO. A brightness increase is al- ready evident in image #5 taken at 11:14:08, implying that the pre- dicted impact time was right on. Image #16 corresponds approxi- mately to maximum brightness, 7 min 47 secs after impact, and a clear detachment of the debris is visible on image #22, 5 minutes after. The total event lasted for about 13 minutes. [Tim Lister]