NASA predicts large asteroid could smash into Earth in 159 yearsBy Patrick Reilly
Published Sep. 19, 2023
NASA scientists have predicted there is a chance that a massive asteroid they have been tracking could smash into Earth in the year 2182, potentially devastating an area the size of Texas.
Bennu, a near-Earth object, orbits the Earth roughly every six years and has been on the space agency’s radar since 1999 when it was first discovered.
There have been three close encounters involving Bennu, in 1999, 2005 and 2011, scientists said.
On September 25, 2135, Bennu will make a close fly-by past Earth and has a miniscule chance of passing through a “gravitational keyhole” that would put the space rock on a collision course with the planet in 2182 — 159 years from now.
A paper from the OSIRIS-REx science team gives Bennu just a 1 in 2,700 chance — or 0.037% — of impacting Earth on September 24, 2182.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/09/19/nasa-predicts-large-asteroid-could-smash-into-earth-in-159-years/
