September 19, 2023 at 06:40 hrs.
For years the asteroid Bennu has been an object of obsession for POT and a large group of scientists who consider the firm possibility that this large rock could crash into Earth.
The most recent calculations suggested that this could happen relatively “soon” in the year 2182although that was one probability among thousands of others, based on the data available at that time to run the calculations.
However, this was more than enough for the space agency to set itself the goal of developing some contingency protocols in the event of an impact scenario against Bennu or some other star formation.
At the same time that they carried out a space exploration mission, called OSIRIS-REx, focused solely and exclusively on the analysis and study of this asteroid in almost every possible aspect.
This is how at the beginning of this month, after seven years in space, the probe of this mission finally returned to Earth with a series of samples collected directly from the asteroid’s surface.
During the period of their arrival at the rock and their return to our home, a lot of data was also collected, thanks to which it has finally been possible to clear up some doubts about the real dangerous situation in which we find ourselves.
Scientists calculate a new probable date of impact of the asteroid Bennu against the Earth
Based on data collected by OSIRIS-REx, a group of scientists from the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) have published their most recent advances regarding their calculations on the probabilities of Bennu impacting our planet.
The previous calculation stated that there was one chance in 2,700 that the rock crashed into us in the year 2182. Now the new projections suggest that the impact would in any case occur until the year 2300.
However, when carrying out the balance of probabilities the figures also changed and There is now a one in 1,750 chance that the crash will happen in that future. All this means that the chances of a collision have increased slightly in the future.
Fortunately, there are projects and missions like that of DART which proves that, in theory, it is possible to find ways to divert the orbit of an asteroid on a collision course towards Earth if necessary.
The good news about all this is that if the incident were to happen, it is most likely that all of us who read this news will no longer be here.
