Asteroid Strike

In this image provided by NASA, an impact plume emerges from the asteroid Dimorphos, left, after DART collides into it on Sept. 26, 2022, orbiting the larger asteroid Dimorphos.

Tags

As featured on

Spacecraft's impact changed asteroid's orbit around the sun in a save-the-Earth test, study finds

Spacecraft's impact changed asteroid's orbit around the sun in a save-the-Earth test, study finds

A new study has found that an asteroid NASA used for target practice a few years ago was nudged into a slightly different route around the sun. It's the first time that a celestial body's solar orbit was deliberately changed. Scientists reported Friday that the 2022 impact by the Dart spacecraft not only trimmed the asteroid's orbit around its bigger space rock companion, but also around the sun. Researchers say their findings could help divert an incoming killer space rock given enough advance notice. The study was published in Science Advances.