DART Impact Nudges Dimorphos Orbit, Extending Its Reach to the Sun
TL;DR Summary
New analysis of NASA’s DART results shows the kinetic impact not only altered Dimorphos’s orbit around Didymos but also shifted the binary system’s path around the Sun, slowing Dimorphos by about 11.7 micrometers per second and shortening the solar orbit by roughly 360 meters (about 0.15 seconds per year). The tiny change, inferred from radar and stellar occultations, provides the strongest evidence yet that kinetic impact can alter an asteroid’s solar trajectory, with ESA’s Hera mission expected to map the bodies to tighten measurements and improve planning for planetary defense.
- NASA’s DART Mission Did More Than Just Nudge an Asteroid, Study Says Gizmodo
- NASA’s Asteroid-Smashing DART Mission Sped Up Space Rock’s Orbit Around the Sun The New York Times
- NASA changed an asteroid’s orbital path around the sun, a first for humankind Scientific American
- NASA’s DART Mission Changed Orbit of Asteroid Didymos Around Sun NASA (.gov)
- NASA defense test kicked asteroid off course -- and changed its orbit around the sun Yahoo
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