This Asteroid is For The Birds
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Meet The Asteroid: Bennu
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Bennu is a Single Asteroid, and only 2 Million Kilometers Away:
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If you're into Long Distance relationships and making dates a year in advance-
Next Available Date with Bennu: July 2020
Why is Bennu Worth the Wait?
Asteroids are generally known to be composed of precious minerals with this type of asteroid generally comprised of 10 percent iron and nickel.
Is Bennu a Hard Venue To Get To?
Yes and No:
Bennu circles the earth close enough for observation once every six years;
July 2020 is the first time samples will be collected from Bennu's surface.
AKA...Not as hard scoring Paul McCartney tickets, but as stellar as capturing tickets to a J.Lo tour that comes about once every several years.
Who Gets the First Face to Face with Bennu?
Osiris-Rex:
How Long Has This Date Been In The Making?
Osiris-Rex launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA) back in 2016.
(Talk about Great Expectations)
Why is Bennu for the Birds?
NASA has decided to name the unique crevices after birds.
Or to be scientific:
"craters, dorsa (peaks or ridges),
fossae (grooves or trenches) and
saxa (rocks and boulders)"
What Kind of Birds?
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NO, NOT THOSE PROFESSIONAL KIND OF BIRDS.
The Egyptian mythical kind of birds.
Who named Bennu?
A nine year old child from North Carolina!
In 2013, Michael Puzio won a contest hosted by the Planetary Society, the Linear Asteroid Survey that discovered Bennu and the mission itself.
Young Michael Puzio suggested the now named "Osiris-Rex" space craft's
"Touch-and-Go Sample Mechanism (TAGSAM) arm and solar panels resemble the neck and wings in illustrations of Bennu, whom ancient Egyptians usually depicted as a gray heron. Bennu is the ancient Egyptian deity linked with the Sun, creation and rebirth -- Puzio also noted that Bennu is the living symbol of Osiris. The myth of Bennu suits the asteroid itself, given that it is a primitive object that dates back to the creation of the Solar System. Themes of origins, rebirth and duality are all part of this asteroid's story. Birds and bird-like creatures are also symbolic of rebirth, creation and origins in various ancient myths." (Source Here).
When Will the Bennu Samples Arrive?
September 2023
What Do We Know About the Surface of Bennu Thus Far?
Clay like material insinuating that this asteroid held water/moisture from whatever greater rock it broke off.
Why Do Scientists Feel Bennu is a threat?
It is as wide as five football fields, and 1,664 times heavier than The Titantic. Its impact would release more TNT than all the world's previous nuclear bombs detonated.
What are The Chances Art Imitates Life?
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1 in 2,700-chance of striking Earth between 2175 and 2199.
(So everybody's great-great grand kids are safe).
Guess the planet will have to
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Article Sources:
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