A new image and video, taken by the Elena telescope situated in Ceccano, Italy, reveals NASAs Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, likewise known as DART, separated from the second phase of the Falcon 9 rocket which released the spacecraft from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday (Nov. 23 PST, or early Nov. 24 EST). Masi runs the Virtual Telescope Project 2.0, which includes the Elena telescope.The image was taken remotely 10 hours after DART raised off, Masi said.Related: NASAs DART asteroid-impact mission explained in picturesNASAs DART spacecraft and a Falcon 9 2nd stage booster that released it can be seen as two little dots at the center of this image capture a few hours after the missions launch. (Image credit: The Virtual Telescope Project) The robotic Elena telescope automatically tracked DART and the booster, both of which are visible at the center of the image as intense dots.
A new image and video, taken by the Elena telescope situated in Ceccano, Italy, shows NASAs Double Asteroid Redirection Test objective, also known as DART, separated from the 2nd phase of the Falcon 9 rocket which introduced the spacecraft from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday (Nov. 23 PST, or early Nov. 24 EST). Masi runs the Virtual Telescope Project 2.0, which includes the Elena telescope.The image was taken remotely 10 hours after DART raised off, Masi said.Related: NASAs DART asteroid-impact objective explained in picturesNASAs DART spacecraft and a Falcon 9 2nd phase booster that launched it can be seen as 2 small dots at the center of this image capture a few hours after the missions launch. (Image credit: The Virtual Telescope Project) The robotic Elena telescope instantly tracked DART and the booster, both of which are noticeable at the center of the image as brilliant dots.