to setDiscovered in 1999 and with a diameter of 500 meters, it is one of the two known asteroids in our solar system that poses the greatest danger to Earth.
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NASA said on Wednesday (August 11) that the asteroid Bennu will pass very close to Earth in the year 2135, only half the distance from our planet to the Moon. The US space agency took the opportunity to reveal new data that the chances of a subsequent impact, by the year 2300, remain slim.
Discovered in 1999 and with a diameter of 500 meters, Bennu is one of two known asteroids in our solar system that pose the greatest danger to Earth, according to NASA. The Osiris-Rex probe spent two years in orbit around Bennu. I left it last May to bring back samples collected during a few seconds of contact with Earth, which will reach Earth in 2023. The mission has made it possible to study the asteroid more closely, and to significantly improve predictions about its future. a path. Scientists concluded that by the year 2300, the chance of hitting the Earth was only 0.057%.
Why are we not 100% sure? In September 2135, Bennu will pass close to Earth. This will give him the opportunity to browse the so-called “gravitational keyhole” : a region that would slightly alter the asteroid’s path, due to the gravitational effect of our planet, and thus put it on a future collision course.
