Smashing a moon slowed down the main asteroid ⚡ экспресс
Original: "A change of the rotation period of asteroid (65803) Didymos caused by the DART impact"
After DART rammed its moon, a day on asteroid Didymos stretched by 0.18 seconds.
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Smashing into a 160-meter rock at 6 km/s and nudging its orbit seems like success enough. But astronomers went further: they noticed the main asteroid Didymos now spins a fraction of a second slower. The impact reshaped it, flattening it. Like a figure skater extending their arms to slow down. Now we know: a cosmic 'shove' can not only deflect a dangerous object but also unexpectedly alter its own motion.
🎯 Dimorphos's orbit around Didymos shrank by 37 minutes: from 11.9 to 11.23 hours.
🎬 If in 'Armageddon' they nuke an asteroid, DART simply rammed its target—and that was enough to change not only its orbit but also its spin.