[The canister or capsule carrying asteroid Bennu sample was dropped by OSIRIS-REx spacecraft via a parachute on September 24, 2023 (NASA image)]
Washington: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists have predicted that Asteroid Bennu could drift into the Earth’s orbit and hit our planet with enormous power.
The US Space Agency however said the chances of asteroid Bennu hitting the Earth is slim.
"The possibility of asteroid Bennu hitting the Earth is 1 in 2,700, or 0.037%", the U.S. space agency said.
"Although the chances of it hitting Earth are very low, Bennu remains one of the two most hazardous known asteroids in our solar system, along with another asteroid called 1950 DA," NASA explained.
About when exactly this could happen, NASA said in 2182 – more than one and half century from now.
Asteroid Bennu could release 1,200 megatons of energy if it hits our planet. This is 24 times more powerful than the most powerful nuclear weapon ever built, NASA said.
According to NASA estimates, asteroid Bennu is taller than Empire State Building – one of the tallest buildings in New York City.
Bennu fly by Earth every six years and had three close encounters with Earth in 1999, 2005 and 2011.
"During the flyby, there is an extremely small chance that Bennu will pass through a "gravitational keyhole" - a region of space that would set it on just the right path to impact Earth, late in the 22nd century," NASA said.
Discovered in 1999, Bennu is classified as a B-type asteroid, which means it contains a lot of carbon in and along with its various minerals.
It is a carbonaceous asteroid that hasn't undergone drastic, composition-altering change, meaning that on and below its deeper-than-pitch-black surface are chemicals and rocks from the birth of the solar system, according to NASA.
NASA scientists are currently researching the sample of asteroid Bennu that was dropped on Earth on September 24, 2023.
Said to be the largest sample, asteroid Bennu sample was collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
OSIRIS-REx collected the sample from asteroid Bennu in October 2020, packed it in a capsule or canister that were then released for landing on Earth via a parachute on September 24.
For all the latest News, Opinions and Views, download ummid.com App.
Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.
