The kinetic impactor method is not the only trick up scientists’ sleeves. (Image credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona) A mosaic image of the asteroid Bennu captured by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. This means that there is a 99.963 per cent probability that the asteroid will not impact our planet during the period. This introduces uncertainty and could lead to a potential impact on Earth between 21.īut according to CNEOS calculations, the risk of the asteroid striking our planet during that period is a 0.0037, or a one in 2,700 chance. This approach could change the asteroid's orbit by a small amount. CNEOS predicts that Bennu will pass close to our planet, within the Moon’s orbit in 2135. The Center for NEO Studies (CNEOS) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has predicted Bennu’s future movements based on 29 radar and 478 optical observations of the asteroid. Monitoring PHAs and updating their orbits can improve the predictions about their risk of impacting our planet. Just because an asteroid is a PHA does not mean it will impact Earth. In order to be a PHA, an asteroid also has to be bigger than 50 metres in size since smaller objects that enter Earth’s surface will disintegrate. The asteroid’s average diameter is about 492 metres.Ī PHA is an asteroid which has an orbit that it will bring it to within 0.05 Astronomical Units of Earth’s orbit. It is roughly spherical shaped and has an equatorial bulge. It orbits the sun every 1.2 years and gets relatively close to Earth once every six years. By current definitions, the asteroid Bennu is a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA).
0 kommentar(er)
