After great anticipation, NASA’s DART spacecraft successfully crashed into asteroid Dimorphos on September 26th, 7:14 PM ET. And while we still don’t know the full results of this mission, Google Search is celebrating it with a new Easter Egg.
Open Google and search for “NASA DART.” Wait a few seconds, and you’ll see the DART spacecraft fly across your screen—it’ll also wreak some havoc on Google Search.
Your Google search could reveal something smashing! Search for “NASA DART” on @Google to see a demonstration of browser, uh, planetary defense. pic.twitter.com/ZuxtlgaLJ1
— NASA (@NASA) September 27, 2022
Over four million people tuned in to watch the DART impact, which was broadcasted live by NASA. It was an exciting event, with commentary from astronomers and a feed of NASA’s control room (where people seem to clap a lot).
The beginning of the broadcast showed Dimorphous as a small pixel in a sea of black. But as DART approached the asteroid (well, it’s technically the moon of an asteroid), it slowly grew in size. The moment that DART hit Dimorphous was bizarre and hilarious—check out the video.
Now, if you don’t mind, I need to decide which Google Easter Egg is my favorite. The DART spacecraft, the Prince of Bel-Air, or the weird Batman thing.