New Data Increases The Odds That Bennu Will Hit The Earth

NASA has leveraged new data gathered by its spacecraft called OSIRIS-REx that was in orbit around an asteroid called Bennu for a long time. Using the data to refine predictions moving into the distant future for the asteroid and its orbit, NASA has increased the chance that it will impact the Earth.

NASA says there is now a one in 1750 chance that Bennu will hit the Earth before the year 2300. The greatest chance for impact comes on September 24, 2182. That’s only slightly higher odds of an impact with the planet than the asteroid had before.

NASA is also clear that it doesn’t believe we need to worry about the asteroid. Despite little concern, Bennu and another asteroid called 1950 DA are the two most likely to impact the earth that we know about at this time.

NASA said, “In 2135, asteroid Bennu will make a close approach with Earth. Although the near-Earth object will not pose a danger to our planet at that time, scientists must understand Bennus exact trajectory during that encounter in order to predict how Earths gravity will alter the asteroids path around the sun and affect the hazard of [future] Earth impact.”