Confirmed: Humanity Changed an Object's Orbit Around The Sun For The First Time

Summary: In 2022, NASA did something amazing: they crashed a spacecraft called DART into an asteroid named Dimorphos. The goal was to see if they could change the rock's path to protect Earth from future dangers. It was a huge success! The crash shortened the asteroid's orbit around its larger partner, Didymos, by 33 minutes.

But scientists just discovered something even bigger. The crash didn't just change how the two asteroids circle each other; it actually changed their entire path around the Sun! When DART hit, it blasted rocks and dust into space. This gave the asteroids a tiny push, slowing them down by about the width of an Apple Watch every hour. That might sound small, but in space, a tiny push adds up. Over ten years, that little change will move the asteroid over two miles. This proves that if a dangerous asteroid is ever heading toward Earth, we have the "planetary medicine" to bump it safely out of the way.

For more details, see sciencealert at sciencealert.com/confirmed-humanity-changed-an-objects-orbit-around-the-sun-for-the-first-time (opens in new tab)