> this is a very tiny change
There! That's what I was looking for. So they were expecting a miniscule change, and instead they were pleasantly surprised by the evidence and are now expecting a very tiny change?
There! That's what I was looking for. So they were expecting a miniscule change, and instead they were pleasantly surprised by the evidence and are now expecting a very tiny change?
They are hoping to see a change in its velocity of a fraction of a mm/s.
https://youtu.be/U0nZvOm3bNs?t=415
It is a small value, but its a measurable fraction of the the velocity of its orbit around the primary (about 12h).
They know the momentum that the impacter had. They had an estimate of the mass of Didymoon and its velocity. They are interested in how much of that momentum was transfered to Didymoon and how much was carried away from ejecta.
I think the real takeaway here is just that something unexpected happen. They're monitoring as they would have regardless, and results will come in time. Expecting results and/or a conclusion this early is, well, jumping the gun.