Killer asteroid Bennu is heading our way, and there's nothing we can do to stop it wiping out life, say experts.
Asteroid impacts on Earth have been surprisingly common in our planet's history. But few have posed as big a threat as Bennu.
Not that it would matter for those living on Earth currently but September 25, 2135, could mark a watershed moment for Earth and humanity as a whole.
Why? Because it could very well mark the day that all life is extinguished because of a collision with a 500-meter (1,640 feet) long asteroid which is hurtling around our sun and may make a beeline for our planet.
The asteroid in question has been christened 101955 Bennu or Bennu for short, with those who pay close attention to NASA developments recognizing that this is the very same piece of space rock that the agency is attempting to collect a piece of through its OSIRIS-REx mission; a part of the reason Bennu was chosen in the first place is that scientists recognize the possibility that the asteroid may crash into the planet, with its proximity to Earth, size, and composition also factoring into their decision.
The 79-billion kilogram Bennu currently has a 1 in 2,700 chance of striking Earth in 2135 and scientists are fretting over the fact that humanity's most advanced existing technology stands little to no chance at altering its path and avoiding an eventual doomsday.
All possible contingencies are being taken into consideration, especially keeping in mind that a collision with an asteroid of this size could wipe out the population of Earth, and researchers are looking into the possibility of sending a specially designed spacecraft to either alter the rock's course or launch a nuke that is capable of doing so in its stead.
The former method involves the spacecraft or any other sufficiently large object becoming what is known as an impactor, whose task will be to alter the asteroid's course by, in simple terms, pushing back at it.
While choosing an approach involves taking into consideration numerous factors, most scientists agree that the latter option will work out to be humanity's best hope for survival in cases such as these where the asteroid is of considerable size.
Buzzfeed News reports that scientists from NASA and the Nuclear Security Administration have detailed plans for dealing with the asteroid in a new paper.
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