page_title: Dimorphos
hierarchical_section_title: Dimorphos
caption_attribution_description: English: Fourteen sequential Arecibo radar images of the near-Earth asteroid (65803) Didymos and its moonlet, taken on 23, 24 and 26 November 2003. NASA’s planetary radar capabilities enable scientists to resolve shape, concavities, and possible large boulders on the surfaces of these small worlds. Photometric lightcurve data indicated that Didymos is a binary system, and radar imagery distinctly shows the secondary body.
context_page_description: Dimorphos is a small asteroid satellite that was discovered in 2003. It is the minor-planet moon of a synchronous binary system with 65803 Didymos as the primary asteroid. After being provisionally designated as S/2003 1 with informal nicknames such as "Didymos B" and "Didymoon", the Working Group Small Body Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union gave the satellite its official name on 23 June 2020. At a diameter of 170 metres, it is one of the smallest astronomical objects to have a permanent name.
context_section_description: Dimorphos is a small asteroid satellite that was discovered in 2003. It is the minor-planet moon of a synchronous binary system with 65803 Didymos as the primary asteroid. After being provisionally designated as S/2003 (65803) 1 with informal nicknames such as "Didymos B" and "Didymoon", the Working Group Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN) of the International Astronomical Union gave the satellite its official name on 23 June 2020. At a diameter of 170 metres (560 ft), it is one of the smallest astronomical objects to have a permanent name.
caption: Radar images of Didymos and its satellite Dimorphos by the Arecibo Observatory in 2003
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