A new report by NASA has revealed that the asteroid it has been monitoring for almost 25 years may collide with the Earth in the future. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx science team has been watching it for several years. It was first discovered by the team in 1999. It has passed close to the Earth three times.
NASA scientists say that if this asteroid hits the Earth, its energy will be 24 times more than the deadliest nuclear explosion. It’s like when dinosaurs fell from this Earth. NASA has named this asteroid Bennu. NASA has expressed hope that this asteroid can hit the Earth by September 2182.
In the ScienceDirect study, experts said that the asteroid Bennu passes by Earth every six years and has come close to Earth three times in 1999, 2005 and 2011. Although scientists say this asteroid cannot hit the Earth soon, it may be possible. Scientists said there is a 1 in 2700 or 0.037% chance that Bennu could hit Earth by 2182.
Earlier in October 2020, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx team analyzed the surface of Bennu. Also, a sample of its surface was collected. An example of this asteroid from space landed on Earth on Sunday, but unfortunately, it crashed in Utah.
What Will Happen If It Hits The Earth?
According to IFLScience, if Bennu were to hit Earth, it would release 1,200 megatons of energy, 24 times more than the energy of the most powerful nuclear explosion. Scientists revealed in 2019 that the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was as powerful as 10 billion nuclear bombs.
Experts also found evidence in huge pieces of rock during the study that asteroids are enough to trigger wildfires and tsunamis and blow so much dust into the atmosphere that it would briefly block out sunlight.
