Moscow Planetarium logo.
Nov. 27, 2021
There is a huge number of asteroids in the solar system, the bulk of which (more than 98%) is concentrated in the main belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Sometimes, under the influence of gravity of larger objects, they leave their usual orbits, flying towards the Earth. Asteroids over 150 meters in diameter, which can approach the Earth at a distance of less than 7.5 million km, are considered potentially hazardous objects.
Image above: Asteroid Bennu. The photo is composed of 12 images taken on December 2, 2018 by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a distance of 24 km. Photo Credit: NASA.
Such objects include the asteroid Bennu (101955 Bennu). It was discovered in 2013 at the Socorro Observatory as part of the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research program to find asteroids. The asteroid was named after the Bennu bird from ancient Egyptian mythology, which was always reborn after death.
In 2016, Bennu became the target of the automatic interplanetary station OSIRIS-REx, designed to deliver soil samples from an asteroid. In 2018, the station reached this facility, and in October 2020, soil sampling took place. The planned return to Earth of the module with samples is September 2023.
The diameter of the asteroid is about 500 meters. It belongs to the spectral class B. It is a relatively rare class that belongs to the group of carbonaceous asteroids that predominate in the outer part of the main belt. Bennu is an active asteroid, periodically throwing out jets of dust and stones up to 10 cm in size. Spectroscopic data showed that its surface consists of a carbonaceous chondrite material, in which the mineral magnetite is present.
Image above: A snapshot of the surface of the asteroid Bennu, taken by OSIRIS-REx after landing (2020). The round head of the robotic arm has a diameter of 30 cm. Photo Credit: NASA.
According to scientists, the likelihood of a possible collision of an asteroid with the Earth between 2178 and 2290 is negligible. Bennu's orbit is dynamically unstable, as are the orbits of all objects approaching the Earth. Therefore, some scientists believe that Bennu has more chances to fly away towards the Sun.
Source: Moscow Planetarium.
Related links:
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/33467/
Moscow Planetarium: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/moskovskiy-planetariy/
Asteroid: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/asteroid/
Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/Moscow Planetarium/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
Greetings, Orbiter.ch
