this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
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Science

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NASA aims to destroy an Empire State Building-sized asteroid (interestingengineering.com)
submitted 1 year ago by Bobo@lemm.ee to c/science@beehaw.org
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Astronomers have been closely monitoring Bennu, which swings close to Earth every six years. However, the real cause for concern arises from the possibility that on September 24, 2182, Bennu could collide with our planet with a force equivalent to 22 atomic bombs. While the odds of such a catastrophic strike are estimated at 1 in 2,700, NASA is not taking any chances.

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[โ€“] ericjmorey@beehaw.org 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In 120 years, people will likely have a better idea of what the trajectory of Bennu will be. No one currently alive needs to do anything at all about this. This is a science experiment for our lifetimes.

[โ€“] Lanthanae@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 1 year ago

It's still good that they monitor and investigate stuff like this ahead of time. NASA, historically, has allowed for a ton of really cool practical advanced in technology to occur because of research they do on stuff like this, and I think it's entirely worth it to work on this kind of stuff even if we never have to actually shoot it down.