1640-foot asteroid could hit Earth, says UCC professor; know when

A UCC professor has stated that Asteroid Bennu can hit Earth! Check details about the asteroid.

Asteroid Bennu can hit Earth after 159 years! (Pixabay)

Asteroids are massive space rocks that travel through space and worryingly, some of these also make a close approach to Earth. NASA tracks such asteroids and categorizes them as potentially hazardous or non-hazardous objects depending on their size and proximity to the planet. Now, a new study says that an asteroid can hit Earth in the next 159 years. Considering that an asteroid caused the extinction of dinosaurs some 65 million years ago, this is shocking news. Now, the prediction of an asteroid collision in the near future is scary. Know what the expert says about this asteroid impact.

Asteroid set to hit Earth in 159 years

According to an Echo Live report, University College Cork (UCC) Astrophysics Professor Bertram Bitsch has said that there is a chance of an asteroid named Bennu hitting our planet in 159 years which may cause the end of humanity! Bitsch has added that it may never happen, but there is one in 2700 chance that Asteroid Bennu could strike Earth.

Imperial College of London's ‘Earth impact' programme reports that Asteroid Bennu has a size of 1640 feet which is massive. It could create a 6 kilometre wide crater and can smash various buildings over a large area. The UCC professors also mentioned NASA's Osiris-Rex spacecraft and its collection of soil from Asteroid Bennu and delivering it back on Earth just a few days ago. He said, “We have some idea what the course of the asteroid will be, but there's only a probability that's attached to it that it might or might not collide with the Earth as we cannot calculate the trajectory with any precision yet because of the unknown gravitational encounters that this asteroid will actually have in the future.”

As of now, NASA is studying the 250g of soil collected from Asterid Bennu. The study could help scientists understand the origin of the universe. Additionally, this would help get a better understanding of asteroids so the world can create a defence mechanism. Scientists could work on deflecting the asteroid or they could also develop plans to destroy such hazardous asteroids entirely.

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