Professor Colin Snodgrass detailed the NASA DART mission, which changed the trajectory of a small asteroid in September 2022. The mission's spacecraft was destroyed during the collision, making Earth-based observations vital for assessing its effectiveness.
He also explained that the impact was visible from areas around the Indian Ocean, where there are few observatories. Colin's team from The University of Edinburgh set up a new observatory in Kenya to observe the DART impact.
The talk brought attention to Kenya, an underrepresented region in astronomy. Despite challenges, the team set up the observatory and captured images of the DART impact. The discussion raised awareness about the potential and difficulties of operating observatories in remote locations.
Colin's talk emphasized the importance of international partnerships in astronomy. He also discussed future prospects for the Kenyan observatory and for astronomy in Africa, promising advancements in space science.
We extend our thanks to Professor Colin Snodgrass for his informative talk. His discussion on the DART mission and international collaboration in science was most enlightening.
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