NASA scientists believe that the asteroid Bennu could collide with Earth in the future, affecting an area the size of Texas, The Hill reports.
Bennu is a near-Earth object. It passes the planet about every six years. Scientists have been observing it since its discovery in September 1999. Bennu sporadically emits jets of dust and rocks up to ten centimeters in size.
Scientists believe Bennu has a chance of passing through a so-called "gravitational keyhole" (an area of space where a planet's gravity can alter the orbit of a passing asteroid), which would send it on a collision course with Earth in 2182.
A new study by the OSIRIS-REx science team predicts that the chance of Bennu colliding with Earth is 0.037 percent (1 in 2,700).
Whether the asteroid hits Earth will depend largely on another flyby. In 2135, Bennu will pass Earth so close that the planet's gravitational pull will be able to pull on the asteroid in the "right" way, setting it on a path that will lead to a collision on September 24, 2182 - nearly 159 years from now.
The asteroid Bennu is about 510 meters (1,660 feet) in diameter and covers about three city blocks. Its impact could affect an area the size of Texas. However, Bennu is much smaller than the 9.6-kilometer (6 miles) asteroid that is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
Bennu's collision with Earth would have released 1,200 megatons of energy - an impact 24 times more powerful than any nuclear weapon.
