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curvebombr t1_jaj92uu wrote

For those that don't know, minutes are a measure of angles. One minute of angle is roughly equal to 1in at 100yard distance. So, 33 minutes is quite a substantial change at this distance.

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Tuna-Fish2 t1_jajnxop wrote

In this case, it's just a measure of time. Dimorphos is in orbit around Didymos. This is why it was chosen as a target, because we can very accurately measure the difference in the length of it's orbit before and after collision.

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zeeblecroid t1_jajjli1 wrote

No, 33 minutes is 1980 seconds, because the article is specifically referring to the orbital period.

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curvebombr t1_jajl8ri wrote

TIL, I was under the impression it was the degree of change in the orbit not length of time to orbit.

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TKtommmy t1_jal3b0u wrote

The shape of orbits are not measured in minutes, there are multiple variables.

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