Asteroid Bennu: When can it collide with Earth?

the NASA Publish a new report on the current location and future path of the scary asteroid benno, which according to the conclusions of the OSIRIS-REx mission has a slightly higher probability of hitting the Earth than previously thought.

the study Titled “Astronomical calendar and risk assessment of the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu based on OSIRIS-REx data”, published in the journal IcarusIt also helped to better understand the movements of asteroid Bennu up to the year 2300, reduce uncertainties about its future orbit and improve scientists’ ability to determine the probability of an overall impact and predict the orbits of other asteroids.

As I mentioned before CNNThe asteroid Bennu has a 1 in 1,750 chance of hitting Earth until the year 2300.

According to a NASA statement, in the year 2135, the asteroid Bennu will approach Earth even though a near-Earth object will not pose a danger to our planet at that time. The official memo notes that scientists must understand Bennu’s exact trajectory during that encounter to predict how Earth’s gravity will affect the asteroid’s path around the sun and influence the Earth’s impact risk.

We shouldn’t worry too much,” said David Farnocchia, a scientist at NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, according to the statement. FOX5 New York.

He noted that while the odds of an attack have risen from 1 in 2700 to 1 in 1750 over the next century or two, scientists now have a much better idea of ​​Bennu’s trajectory thanks to NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft.

Asteroid Bennu could hit Earth on September 24, 2182

Precise tracking data from origins, spectral interpretation, resource identification, the Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft also identified September 24, 2182 as the single most important date in terms of a possible impact from asteroid Bennu. Against Earth, with an impact probability of 1 in 2,700 (or about 0.037%), the NASA statement said.

Asteroid Bennu is about a third of a mile or 500 meters wide, according to NASA.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has also collected a sample of rock and dust from the asteroid’s surface, which will reach Earth on September 24, 2023 for further scientific research.

“The OSIRIS-REx data provides us with much more accurate information, and we can test the limits of our models and calculate the future trajectory of Bennu with a high degree of certainty of 2135,” said study leader Davide Farnocchia.

How could the Yarkovsky effect affect the asteroid Bennu

According to the CNN post, the sun’s heat can cause something called the Yarkovsky effect on asteroids.

What does this phenomenon mean? As asteroids orbit the sun, they repeatedly heat and cool as they orbit. The asteroid rotates during this temperature change, releases energy, and receives a small boost.

Steve Chesley, chief researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explained in a statement that the Yarkovsky effect “will act on all asteroids of all sizes,” and noted that “the OSIRIS-REx mission gave us the first opportunity to measure it in detail. As Bennu traveled around the sun.”

“The impact on Bennu is equivalent to the weight of three grapes constantly operating on the asteroid; small, yes, but important for determining the prospects for Bennu’s future impact in the coming decades and centuries,” the expert confirmed.

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