DART makes history by nudging an asteroid's path around the Sun
TL;DR Summary
NASA's DART spacecraft’s 2022 impact on Dimorphos not only shortened the moonlet's orbit around Didymos but also measurably altered the Didymos–Dimorphos system's orbit around the Sun, changing the pair's solar trajectory by about 11.7 microns per second (roughly 1.7 inches per hour). This first-of-its-kind result supports planetary-defense research by showing how small nudges can accumulate to influence long-term hazard assessments.
- NASA's DART spacecraft changed a binary asteroid's orbit around the sun, in a first for a human-made object Engadget
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- NASA’s DART Mission Changed Orbit of Asteroid Didymos Around Sun NASA (.gov)
- You Can Probably Breathe Easier About Catastrophic Asteroid Collisions Now WSJ
- Asteroid-Smashing NASA Mission Sped Up Space Rocks’ Journey Around the Sun The New York Times
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