NASA Predicts Huge Asteroid Called Bennu Could Hit Earth
NASA has announced that a huge asteroid 1,700 feet (1/3 a mile) wide might hit earth in the future, and now they think they know when it could happen. The asteroid is called Bennu and it could hit earth sometime in the 22nd century, specifically on September 22, 2135!
Don't freak out yet because the chance it will hit us is still relatively low at 1 in 2,500 chance that it will happen, according to reports. That is still a strong enough chance for NASA to launch a satellite to land on Bennu and take samples of it's makeup and bring them back to Earth. That satellite mission is already half way to Bennu and is expected to land on the asteroid sometime in November 2018. The samples will arrive back on Earth sometime in 2023.
The prediction says Bennu will most likely fly between the Earth and Moon around 2135 and the Earths gravity will alter the asteroid that may causing it to hit us. The good news is that even though Bennu could create a lot of damage, it is not a "global killer". It would not destroy all life on Earth if it hit but it would still be very catastrophic.
There are multiple plans to hopefully stop Bennu from hitting us. Ideas like a HAMMER device that slams into Bennu with enough force to chang its course or painting Bennu with a certain paint on one half that could change the "thermal dynamics" and it's orbit, according to reports. They won't decide on a plan until they know more about the makeup of the asteroid.
The asteroid that is theorized to have affected the extinction of the Dinosaurs was over 6 miles across.