Analysis of images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope has shown a rocky image of asteroid Dimorphos, the first human attempt to deflect a spacecraft from its path since it was targeted by NASA’s DART mission last September.

Images taken by Hubble in December show that the rocks flying near the asteroid range in size from about one cubic meter to 8 cubic meters and are moving away from the planet slightly.

The site specifies Tech C Daily The satellite pointed out the importance of these images as they provide scientists with important data on the behavior of an asteroid after it is targeted and changes its trajectory.

Erratic asteroids represent a real risk of collision with Earth.

Scientists estimate that an asteroid several miles away collided with Earth 65 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs and other species in a mass extinction.

Humanity can avoid this fate if it starts practicing how to derail an approaching asteroid.

The American space agency (NASA) launched an unprecedented mission by launching a spacecraft from California at a speed of 24 thousand kilometers per hour, aiming to collide with Dimorphos to divert its trajectory.

NASA’s experiment succeeded in deflecting the asteroid from its path, but images taken by Hubble raise suspicions about other hazards that could be posed by rocks scattered by the collision.

The European spacecraft Hera will give NASA a closer look at the results of the collision when it reaches asteroid Dimorphos in 2026.

Scientists say the scattered rocks may be rocks that have accumulated on the asteroid’s surface, and not broken off from the impact.

The Hubble Space Telescope is an international collaborative project between NASA and the European Space Agency.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland manages the telescope, while the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland runs the Hubble and Webb science operations.