NASA considers Bennu to be a potentially hazardous asteroid, but don’t worry. The chances of a real-life “Armageddon” are small.
Bennu, soon to be visited by OSIRIS-REX, has a 1-in-2,7000 chance of colliding with Earth by the end of the 22nd century.
Scientists predict the asteroid will fly near the Earth in 2135, passing just within the moon’s orbit. This close encounter may affect Bennu’s orbit.
The asteroid’s path around the sun and how it may change are questions researchers want to answer during the OSIRIS-REx mission.
A scientific phenomenon called the Yarkovsky effect has the potential to alter an asteroid’s orbit. Like the Earth, asteroids orbit the sun while also spinning. As an asteroid rotates, only part of it will face the sun at a time. The side that is hit with sunlight will absorb the energy. When that side becomes shadowed, the energy is released, giving the rock a little nudge.
Researchers want to find out just how much Bennu’s path through space is affected by this phenomenon, which will allow for more accurate predictions of asteroid orbits.
