# An asteroid killed the dinosaur’s, Bennu will kill us all **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 25, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842 "2020-10-25T17:32:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rboyce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rboyce/32/4066_2.png) [@rboyce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rboyce)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/1 "2020-10-25T17:32:54Z")
**An asteroid killed the dinosaur’s, Bennu will kill us all** **101955 Bennu** (provisional designation 1999 RQ36)[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu#cite_note-contest-9) is a [**carbonaceous asteroid**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-type_asteroid) in the [Apollo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_asteroid) group discovered by the [LINEAR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Near-Earth_Asteroid_Research) Project on 11 September 1999. It is a [potentially hazardous object](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potentially_hazardous_object) that is **listed on the** [**Sentry Risk Table**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentry_(monitoring_system)) with the second-highest cumulative rating on the [Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palermo_Technical_Impact_Hazard_Scale).[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu#cite_note-risk-table-10) It has a cumulative 1-in-2,700 chance of **impacting Earth between 2175 and 2199**.[[11]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu#cite_note-Sentry-11)[[12]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu#cite_note-Meteoritics-12) It is named after the [Bennu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bennu), the ancient Egyptian mythological bird associated with the Sun, creation, and rebirth. 101955 Bennu has a mean diameter of 490 m (1,610 ft; 0.30 mi) Bennu is the target of the [OSIRIS-REx](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSIRIS-REx) mission which is intended to [return its samples](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample-return_mission) to Earth in 2023 for further study.[[15]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu#cite_note-NYT-20160908-15)[[16]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu#cite_note-NYT-20160908-kc-16)[[17]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu#cite_note-NASA-20150331-db-17) On 3 December 2018, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at Bennu **after a two-year journey.** [[18]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu#cite_note-NYT-20181203-18) It orbited the asteroid and mapped out Bennu’s surface in detail, seeking potential sample collection sites. Analysis of the orbits allowed calculation of Bennu’s mass and its distribution.[[19]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu#cite_note-19) On 20 October 2020 OSIRIS-REx successfully touched down, using an extendable arm, on the surface of Bennu to collect a sample.[[21]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu#cite_note-NYT-20201020-21) [101955 Bennu - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu) **Sentry** is a highly automated [impact prediction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_impact_prediction) system operated by the [JPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPL) Center for NEO Studies (CNEOS) since 2002. It continually monitors the most current [**asteroid**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid) **catalog for possibilities of future impact with** [**Earth**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth) **over the next 100+ years** [Sentry (monitoring system) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentry_(monitoring_system)) [https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-osiris-rex-spacecraft-collects-significant-amount-of-asteroid](https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-osiris-rex-spacecraft-collects-significant-amount-of-asteroid) [https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-invites-media-to-briefing-on-osiris-rex-asteroid-sample-collection](https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-invites-media-to-briefing-on-osiris-rex-asteroid-sample-collection) ---
**Author:** ![rboyce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rboyce/32/4066_2.png) [@rboyce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rboyce)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/2 "2020-10-25T17:33:30Z")
[1-53-55WATCH- NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to collect sample …YouTube · PBS NewsHour4 days ago.url](https://boards.straightdope.com/uploads/short-url/dfTdeUY58gShRi58qHY2z8pSyqg.url) (69 Bytes) ---
**Author:** ![rboyce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rboyce/32/4066_2.png) [@rboyce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rboyce)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/3 "2020-10-25T17:33:56Z")
[4-54Tour of Asteroid BennuYouTube · NASA Goddard2 weeks ago.url](https://boards.straightdope.com/uploads/short-url/lOleP6Ukf3bhn3fepxmoOjlWKK7.url) (69 Bytes) ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/4 "2020-10-25T17:53:15Z")
Reported. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/5 "2020-10-25T17:56:10Z")
Your OP is pretty much a cut and paste of the opening paragraphs of the wiki article on Bennu. OK. Bennu is out there. Bennu is big enough that if it hit Earth, it’d do a bunch of damage. Though far less than mass-extinction level damage. And has a very small chance (as best we can tell today) of being anything other than something cool for our great^6-grandkids to look at in a telescope as it goes by. Ho hum. Nothing to get worked up about here. Though the fact NASA is visiting it right now as I type is really, really cool. ---
**Author:** ![rboyce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rboyce/32/4066_2.png) [@rboyce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rboyce)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/6 "2020-10-25T18:01:42Z")
I cannot imagine why someone would “report” this-? This is a topic for discussion only; what’s up !! ---
**Author:** ![rboyce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rboyce/32/4066_2.png) [@rboyce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rboyce)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/7 "2020-10-25T18:02:52Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Reported. why–? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/8 "2020-10-25T18:08:21Z")
What is your opinion? Your title implies you think it’ll be a big deal, but you’ve helpfully and reasonably posted links only to factual sites, not alarmist sites. By “us all” do you mean all humans or all life on Earth? Neither of those is likely given Bennu’s size. It’s big, but it’s not **[Chicxulub](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_impactor)** big. And at least right now the odds are very much in our favor. Its Palermo rating of -1.69 implies it’s about 1/50th as dangerous as the normal annual background noise of meteor impacts. Small beer indeed. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/9 "2020-10-25T18:13:59Z")
> [@rboyce](#): > > I cannot imagine why someone would “report” this-? > > This is a topic for discussion only; what’s up !! Because in GD it’s expected that you will propose a topic for debate. So what are you debating? That Bennu is big enough to kill us all? That it’s likely to hit us? That we’re better able than dinosaurs to prepare for an extinction level event? What’s your question? There’s no debate if all you’re doing is copypasta from Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/10 "2020-10-25T18:14:23Z")
> [@rboyce](#): > > why–? The title of the OP is really wrong. (it looks like click bait) Not only about the chances of impact, but the size and composition point to a bad time for some _ **if** _ that happens, but not an extinction event. As NASA reported elsewhere: > **[No, Asteroid Bennu Won't Destroy Earth](https://www.space.com/33616-asteroid-bennu-will-not-destroy-earth.html)** > > NASA's new asteroid-sampling mission will do a lot of interesting things, but helping prepare humanity for Earth's imminent destruction is not among them. > But, mission officials stressed, that chance is slim, and the space rock is not nearly big enough to pose an existential threat to the planet, despite what some media reports claimed over the weekend. [[Potentially Dangerous Asteroids (Images)](https://www.space.com/20151-potentially-dangerous-asteroids-images.html)] > > “We’re not talking about an [asteroid](https://www.space.com/51-asteroids-formation-discovery-and-exploration.html) that could destroy the Earth,” OSIRIS-REx principal investigator Dante Lauretta, of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, told [Space.com](http://Space.com). “We’re not anywhere near that kind of energy for an impact.” ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/11 "2020-10-25T18:16:26Z")
Reported because you still can’t figure out how not to put download links in your posts. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/12 "2020-10-25T18:18:16Z")
---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/13 "2020-10-25T18:19:22Z")
Wikipedia already does a good job of hosting their own pages. There’s no need for Wiki articles to be reposted here. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-asteroid-killed-the-dinosaur-s-bennu-will-kill-us-all/923842/14 "2020-10-25T18:47:03Z")
> [@rboyce](#): > > [1-53-55WATCH- NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to collect sample …YouTube · PBS NewsHour4 days ago.url](https://boards.straightdope.com/uploads/short-url/dfTdeUY58gShRi58qHY2z8pSyqg.url) (69 Bytes) > [@rboyce](#): > > [4-54Tour of Asteroid BennuYouTube · NASA Goddard2 weeks ago.url](https://boards.straightdope.com/uploads/short-url/lOleP6Ukf3bhn3fepxmoOjlWKK7.url) (69 Bytes) **Moderator Warning** **rboyce** , you’ve previously been instructed not to post links that ask to be downloaded. YOU ARE ONCE AGAIN INSTRUCTED NOT TO POST LINKS IN YOUR POSTS, SINCE YOU DON’T SEEM TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS CORRECTLY. Colibri