Mysterious Behavior of NASA's Smashed Asteroid Leaves Scientists Baffled

The asteroid Dimorphos, which was successfully smashed by NASA's DART spacecraft last year, is exhibiting unexpected behavior by continuing to slow down in its orbit around the larger asteroid Didymos. The DART mission aimed to change Dimorphos' trajectory, and initially succeeded in reducing its orbit period. However, observations by a schoolteacher and his student astronomers indicate that the asteroid's orbit has continued to slow down, contrary to expectations. The cause of this phenomenon remains unknown, and theories suggest that the impact may have caused a change in the asteroid's orbit or unlocked it from tidal forces. NASA will be releasing a report on the DART mission's latest update, while the findings of the schoolteacher and his students will be published by the American Astronomical Society.