101955 Bennu

near-Earth asteroid of highest impact hazard

Key facts

Discovered by: LINEAR
Discovery site: Lincoln Lab's ETS
Discovery date: 11 September 1999
Pronunciation: / ˈ b ɛ n uː /
Named after: Bennu
Alternative designations: 1999 RQ 36
Minor planet category: Apollo · NEO · PHA · risk listed
Observation arc: 21.06 yr (7693 days)
Aphelion: 1.3559 au (202.84 Gm )
Perihelion: 0.8969 au (134.17 Gm)
Semi major axis: 1.1264 au (168.51 Gm)
Orbital period sidereal: 1.1955 yr (436.65 d )

Article

Spectral type B F Absolute magnitude (H) 20.9

101955 Bennu (provisional designation 1999 RQ36) is a carbonaceous asteroid in the Apollo group discovered by the LINEAR Project on 11 September 1999. It is a potentially hazardous object that is listed on the Sentry Risk Table and has the second highest cumulative rating on the Palermo scale. It has a cumulative chance of around 1-in-1,750 of impacting Earth between 2178 and 2290 with the greatest risk being on 24 September 2182. It is named after Bennu, the ancient Egyptian mythological bird associated with the Sun, creation, and rebirth.