Shaving a half-hour off an asteroid’s orbit is a huge accomplishment for the project, which would have considered even a 73-second difference a success. Researchers believe that one of the causes of the large shift in orbit is that the hit displaced masses of material, resulting in a dramatic-looking cloud of debris. According to NASA, this “recoil” provided the collision an additional kick.
There is still a lot about the effect that scientists will need time to find out. Many more sightings will be analysed to answer queries such, “Is the orbit changing shape?” Is Dimorphos swaying? How much debris was ejected from the asteroid when we collided with it at 14,000 miles per hour?
