**Asteroid Bennu Could Pose Impending Threat to Earth in 2182, Report Suggests**
Scientists have recently discovered that an asteroid known as Bennu, which was first identified in 1999, has the potential to enter Earth’s orbit and make impact in the year 2182. According to a new report, the probability of this event occurring is estimated to be 1 in 2,700, or 0.037%. This alarming finding has raised concerns among experts who are now closely monitoring the celestial body.
If Bennu were to collide with Earth, it would unleash a colossal amount of energy, with an estimated release of 1,200 megatons. This is equivalent to a staggering 24 times the energy produced by most man-made nuclear weapons, as highlighted by the scientific publication IFLScience. It is important to note that the asteroid responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs, as calculated by scientists in 2019, possessed a force equal to 10 billion atomic bombs.
The potential threat posed by Bennu is further emphasized by its history of close encounters with our planet. The asteroid makes a pass by Earth every six years, and previous encounters occurred in 1999, 2005, and 2011, as revealed by experts overseeing the study in an interview with ScienceDirect magazine.
To gain a better understanding of Bennu, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, launched by NASA, provided crucial insights. In October 2020, the OSIRIS-REx science team successfully touched down on the surface of Bennu, collected a rock sample, and swiftly departed the asteroid. The spacecraft is scheduled to return to Earth on Sunday, September 24, catapulting scientists into a thrilling era of discoveries about the origins of the Solar System.
The sample retrieved from Bennu by OSIRIS-REx could potentially revolutionize our understanding of the Solar System’s formation, says astrophysicist Hakeem Oluyesi. In an interview with ABC News, Oluyesi explained that this “pure, uncontaminated material” holds invaluable secrets that could include the presence of biological molecules or precursor molecules to life. The implications of such a finding would be groundbreaking, shedding light on the possibility of life beyond Earth.
With the designation of Bennu as a “planet killer” by astronomers, concerns continue to mount regarding its potential impact on Earth. Scientists will closely monitor its trajectory and gather additional data to assess the likelihood of a collision in the year 2182. The future of our planet may depend on these efforts to comprehend and mitigate the threat looming overhead.