NASA researchers used OSIRIS-REx data to determine the trajectory of the dangerous asteroid Bennu.
In 2135, the asteroid Bennu will come close to Earth. Despite the fact that at that moment the object, most likely, will not pose a danger to our planet, scientists decided to determine the exact trajectory of Bennu during this meeting.
With the help of modern computer models, scientists have been able to significantly reduce Bennu’s range of intended motion. It turned out that the overall probability of a collision over the course of 2300 is approximately 0.057%.
The researchers were also able to identify the most dangerous day – September 24, 2182 – this is the only date when the asteroid can potentially come close to the Earth and cause any harm to it: the probability of this is about 0.037%.
Despite the fact that the probability of a collision with Earth Bennu is very small, he remains one of the two most dangerous known asteroids in the solar system. The second object is 1950 DA.
Bennu was studied using OSIRIS-REx: he spent more than two years very close to the asteroid, collecting information about size, shape, mass, speed. The device also collected samples of rock and dust that will fall on Earth on September 24, 2023 for further study.
