Asteroid the size of the Empire State Building may clash with Earth in the 2100s. It will not result in destruction, but the impact could be vast. Lindley Johnson, a Nasa planetary defense officer, predicts that the crater will be 10 to 20 times the size of the asteroid.
Details
An asteroid the dimensions of the New York Empire State Building could strike with the Earth. However, because it is currently over 100 million miles from Earth, the asteroid named Bennu will probably strike the earth in the next century or two.
Yes, you read it Right! Asteroid Bennu spotted in 1999, has indeed been labeled as a possibly harmful body. Asteroids are tiny, stony bodies that orbit the Sun. While asteroids orbit the Sun resemble planets, they are far smaller.
As per a report, the possibilities of Bennu striking with Earth between 2021 and 2300 are one in 1,750. Scientist Davide Farnocchiaa, a co-author of the ‘hazard assessment’ research for asteroid (101955) Bennu with 17 other researchers, stated that the probabilities of the crash are still very low.
Asteroid Bennu Impact Animation | Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
I’m no more frightened regarding Bennu : Scientist Farnocchia
Farnocchia stated, “I’m no more frightened regarding Bennu than I was initially. The effect likelihood remains extremely low.”
The analysis, termed ‘Ephemeris and hazard assessment for near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu,’ was conducted by Farnocchiaa and employed OSIRIS-REx data to monitor the asteroid’s path.
How close will the asteroid Bennu travel to the Earth?
According to scientists, the asteroid Bennu will travel within 125,000 miles of the Earth by the year 2135, roughly half the distance between the Earth and the moon. A video from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center displays how close Bennu will be in September 2135, which experts consider it essential to learn the exact distance.
The scientists stated that a theory referred to as a ‘gravitational keyhole’ might send Bennu on a track that would strike with Earth 50 years after 2135.
OSIRIS-Rex analysis on Bennu
According to scientists, the acorn-shaped structure that originated in the early times of our solar system could offer insights into the origins of life on Earth. OSIRIS-REx, a NASA spacecraft, has spent two years around Bennu. The spacecraft’s robotic arm was utilized to gather a data set from the asteroid’s surface, which will support researchers in estimating Bennu’s future direction. Bennu has a width of around 1,650 feet (500 meters). OSIRIS-gathered REx’s rocks and dust are expected to return to Earth on September 24, 2023.
The OSIRIS-REx picked Bennu due to the asteroid’s carbon molecules, which could reveal details about the “development of life on Earth.”
The probability of devastation is rising
However, the big day might be September 24, 2182, although experts consider there is just a 0.037 percent risk that Bennu would crash the Earth. They have also ensured that it will not result in destruction, although a large impact might be. Lindley Johnson, a planetary defense officer at NASA, estimates that the crater will be 10 to 20 times the size of the asteroid.
NASA plans to deploy Double Asteroid Redirect Test Spacecraft
NASA plans to use this method on an asteroid called Didymos in 2022, deploying the Double Asteroid Redirect Test spacecraft to push it out of orbit. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch later this year.
Dr. Johnson says that if there are decades of warning, such a deviation could be used to divert a misdirected asteroid the size of Bennu, however, it would require numerous impactors.
