NASA says the asteroid Bennu, bigger than the Empire State Building , is headed toward Earth. But don't worry, it's not expected to arrive until the year 2182 , and there's only a 0.05% chance it will hit our planet .
See also: NASA OSIRIS-REx: Sample from asteroid Bennu is on display in museum
It is important to understand this risk in general, as well as what might happen if an asteroid eventually collides with Earth – as this has happened many times in geological history.
The good news is that scientists have been working on a solution to this problem. It involves sending a special spacecraft into spaceto deflect the asteroid. In October 2022, NASA successfully used its mission called “Dart” to change the orbit of an asteroid with a spacecraft.
Bennu is a small near-Earth asteroid that passes by our planet about every six years. It was the target of NASA 's OSIRIS-REx mission to collect a sample and return it to Earth.
Bennu is a carbon-rich asteroid, about half a kilometer wide at its equator.
See also: NASA: The box with the Bennu asteroid sample has not yet been opened
It is an ancient relic from the early days of our solar system, spanning more than 4.5 billion years of history. Scientists believe that within 10 million years of the formation of our solar system, Bennu's composition as we see it today had already been established.
The asteroid was likely broken off from a much larger, carbon- rich asteroid about 700 million to 2 billion years ago . The asteroid Bennu likely formed in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter , and has drifted very close to Earth since then. Because of its age, Bennu may contain organic molecules similar to those that could be associated with the beginning of life on Earth.
Bennu's original designation was 1999 RQ36. The name "Bennu," which refers to an ancient Egyptian deity, was chosen in 2013 by nine-year-old Michael Puzio from North Carolina, who won a naming contest.
See also: NASA's DART probe changed the shape of the asteroid Dimorphos
The asteroid Bennu has approached Earth several times since it was discovered in 1999.
Source: 6abc
