Exact date asteroid Bennu could smash into Earth revealed
The world will be watching closely as a spacecraft returns to Earth after an epic journey to a potentially dangerous asteroid.
It’s a menacing asteroid floating around in space near the Earth.
The asteroid known as 101955 Bennu is about 490 metres wide and is on a potential collision course with our Blue Planet.
There is a disturbing 1-in-1800 probability that the rock will impact the Earth. And if it does so, it will be disastrous.
The force of the impact would be 1200 megatons of TNT. To put that into context, the largest nuclear weapon ever exploded was Russia’s Tsar Bomba, which was 58 megatons.
It’s not due to arrive anytime soon though, with estimates ranging from the year 2178 to 2290.
An exact day has been pinpointed as the most likely: 24 September 2182 — mark your calendars.
Given the doomsday scenario that the asteroid poses, astronomers have taken a keen interest. They have been observing the rock closely through the Arecibo Observatory and the Goldstone Deep Space Network.
NASA incredibly managed to visit the asteroid in 2020, with the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. After travelling for two years, it spent another two years studying the rock before making the plunge into the object.
The squishy nature of the rock caught scientists by surprise as they had been expecting a solid surface — and the asteroid nearly swallowed the spacecraft.
Queen guitarist and astronomy fan Sir Brian May jumped in to save the day. He reached out to the team and offering his stereoscopic imaging skills and in the process identified an obstacle-free crater.
The spacecraft managed to escape from the C-type asteroid with samples intact.
The world will be watching with bated breath, hoping for a safe landing in the deserts of Utah as the spacecraft attempts to drop its 250g sample back on Sunday (September 24).
Bennu is named after a mythological Egyptian bird associated with Osiris, the god of the Sun, creation, rebirth — and ominously — death.
‘Exciting’: NASA’s remarkable Mars discovery
A NASA rover has sent back images of an unusual rock formation on Mars that has left scientists baffled.
Earth is getting a new moon this week
Our blue moon will no longer be standing alone. A second moon will begin orbiting the Earth next week - and you might be able to see it.
How you can watch tonight’s supermoon
Stargazers will notice the moon is bigger and brighter tonight as it moves about 50,000 km closer to Earth. Here’s the best times to watch the spectacle.