--- title: "Asteroid NASA Smashed a Spacecraft Into Grew Two “Unexpected” Tails" description: "DART'Agnan NASA just made its DART mission even cooler by admitting that when it successfully smashed an asteroid, the space rock ejected two comet trails and not one. In a blog post, NASA noted that the Hubble Space Telescope spotted the second tail from the Double Asteroid Reduction Test (DART) impact on the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system, […]" date: "2022-10-21" modified: "2022-10-21" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-asteroid-dart-twin-tails" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "asteroids" - "dart" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # Asteroid NASA Smashed a Spacecraft Into Grew Two “Unexpected” Tails ![NASA has announced that after successfully smashing its Double Asteroid Reduction Test (DART) into an asteroid, the space rock ejected two comet tails.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## DART'Agnan NASA has announced that after successfully smashing its Double Asteroid Reduction Test (DART) into an asteroid, the space rock formed *two* comet tails — not one — roughly a week after impact, confounding astronomers. In [a blog post](), NASA noted that its Hubble Space Telescope spotted the second tail resulting from the impact with asteroid Didymos, providing astronomers with "a more complete picture" of what really went down. Comets eject dust and gas as they scream through the Solar System, forming tail-like formations behind them. Didymos, a tiny "near-Earth" space rock, formed a tail once NASA's spacecraft bashed into it. And now, that tail has a mysterious twin. "The twin tail is an unexpected development, although similar behavior is commonly seen in comets and active asteroids," NASA said, which "has both surprised and puzzled astronomers," as the agency's Hubble account [noted on Twitter](). https://twitter.com/HubbleTelescope/status/1583111712181743616 ## Uncanny Though NASA has some pretty excellent images of the post-DART double tail, the space agency admitted that its scientists still don't really know what's going on here yet. "The relationship between the comet-like tail and other ejecta features seen at various times in images from Hubble and other telescopes is still unclear," the update notes, "and is something the Investigation Team is currently working to understand." NASA added that the second tail is "newly developed," and that "there are a number of possible scenarios the team will investigate," but didn't expand on what those scenarios could be. All the same, this stunning view of the resulting aftermath beautifully demonstrates how much we still have to learn about asteroids, comets, and their tails. **More on NASA:** [*NASA Just Shot Tiny Bullets at Its Mars Spacecraft*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()