Asteroid Bennu could collide with Earth in 2182: what will happen to the planet
Kyiv • UNN
Scientists have simulated the consequences of a possible impact of the asteroid Bennu on Earth on September 24, 2182. The collision could cause a global winter with a 4°C drop in temperature and disruption of food security.
What would happen if the space rock Bennu hit Earth in 2182: researchers simulated the potential impact of a hill-sized cosmic asteroid. The date when the cosmic body could potentially collide with Earth was also determined. This is reported by UNN with reference to ScienceAlert.
Details
A new study simulated the consequences that could result from an asteroid Bennu collision with Earth - an event that, while unlikely, is not entirely ruled out. Scientists believe that September 24, 2182, could be the date when there is a real threat of Earth colliding with an asteroid.
For reference
Over many years, asteroids have repeatedly hit Earth. Space is teeming with rocks, and many of them carelessly rush along trajectories that could lead them to a violent collision with our planet.
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According to NASA, the celestial object named Bennu has a 1 in 2,700 chance of colliding with our planet on September 24, 2182. With a diameter of about 500 meters and a mass of 74 million tons, its collision would cause a number of catastrophic consequences.
A particular threat is the consequences after a possible collision
To understand the consequences of future collisions, Dai and Timmerman used the Aleph supercomputer at the IBS Center for Climate Physics at the university to simulate the collision of a 500-meter asteroid with Earth, including simulations of terrestrial and marine ecosystems that were not considered in previous simulations.
Scientists concluded:
It's not about the Earth being devastated by an explosion, but about what happens after it.
Scientists simulated the fall
A team of scientists developed climate models to understand the consequences of a possible collision. Experts explain: in fact, Bennu is significantly smaller than the asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. But its collision could cause a global winter that would affect food production and ecological balance.
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The Bennu collision would eject millions of tons of dust and aerosols into the atmosphere, blocking sunlight and lowering the global average temperature by up to 4°C.
Such an impact would release 100 to 400 million metric tons of dust into the planet's atmosphere, disrupting the chemical composition of the atmosphere. This would hinder photosynthesis and hit the climate like a wrecking ball.
This is likely to lead to serious disruptions in global food security
But not all is hopeless
Indeed, terrestrial plants are sensitive to such changes and need some time to recover. But algae, which live in water bodies, not only recovered faster, recovering within a few months.
The study confirmed:
Algae grew to volumes they do not reach under current normal climatic conditions.
Explanation using the example of the study
The corresponding behavior of algae, researchers say, is due to the iron content in the asteroid dust and dust from material ejected from Earth during the collision, a nutrient that helped the simulated algae thrive.
This was especially true for marine diatoms, which zooplankton feed on, suggesting a possible way to mitigate food security.
It is impossible to say exactly how often our planet has been hit by large asteroids in its history. Craters are erased and covered by erosion processes. Some large rocks explode in the air, leaving only debris that is difficult to identify in the geological record unless you are looking for them.
However, scientists believe that humanity as a whole will likely survive an encounter with the asteroid Bennu.
Addition
NASA and other space agencies have developed strategies to reduce the risk of collision. The OSIRIS-REx mission allowed an in-depth study of the asteroid and obtained samples of its composition, which facilitates planning future deflection missions. An example of this is the DART mission, which in 2022 managed to change the trajectory of an asteroid by colliding with a probe. This type of technology could be applied in the future to change Bennu's orbit if it is determined that its course poses a real danger to Earth.