Asteroid Bennu may hit Earth in 2182 NASA: probability 0.037% – News – Rti Central Radio
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Time: 2023-09-21 20:33 News citation: Central News Agency Writing Editor: News Editor Asteroid Bennu has a 0.037% chance of hitting the Earth in 2182. (Picture: AsteroidWatch Twitter)
A new report points out that an asteroid that has been tracked by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the past 25 years may hit the Earth in 2182, with a probability of 0.037%.
The OSIRIS-REx science team stated that the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, first discovered in 1999, may slowly drift into Earth’s orbit and hit the Earth in September 2182.
Experts said in a research report published in the ScienceDirect database that Bennu will pass by the Earth once every six years and has had close contact with the Earth in 1999, 2005 and 2011.
Scientists say that the chance of Bennu hitting the Earth before 2182 is 1/2700, equivalent to 0.037%.
In October 2020, the NASA probe Osiris briefly touched the surface of Bennu, collected samples, and then moved away from the asteroid. The first asteroid sample collected by Osiris in space was returned to Earth on September 17 this year, landing in Utah, USA. This is NASA’s first mission of its kind.
Astrophysicist Hakeem Oluyesi told ABC News that this will change people’s understanding of the origin of the solar system.
He said: “This is pure, uncontaminated material that can unlock the secrets of the early days of the solar system. Scientists also hope to find biological molecules, or even molecules that are precursors to life, although there is little hope.”
According to the natural science website IFLScience, if Bennu hits the Earth, it will release 1,200 million tons of energy, 24 times the energy of most man-made nuclear weapons.
Scientists revealed in 2019 that the asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs was 10 billion times more powerful than an atomic bomb. Experts have found evidence in chunks of rock that the asteroid struck with enough force to trigger wildfires, tsunamis and explosions, filling the atmosphere with huge amounts of dust and blocking sunlight.
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