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The Dart probe was crashed into an asteroid last week, seen inset, to test whether the rocks on a collision course with Earth can be bumped off course.

The smash blasted debris from the surface, caught two days later by a Chilean telescope as a comet-like stream of dust.

The trail stretches for more than 6,200 miles and is expected to get longer until it disperses amid all the other space dust.

Scientists are following another asteroid called Didymos to establish if the first asteroid’s trajectory changed. Astronomer Teddy Kareta said: “It is amazing how clearly we were able to capture the structure and extent of the aftermath in the days following the impact.”

Dr Lori Glaze, a boss at Nasa which blew £240million on the mission, said: “We’re embarking on a new era in which we potentially have the capability to protect ourselves from something like a dangerous hazardous asteroid impact.”

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