Astronomers are constantly on the lookout for larger bodies that could be on a more catastrophic

trajectory. The asteroid that’s most likely to slam into Earth in the next 300 years is called Bennu, a rock
that’s about a third of a mile wide. But the chances it will hit Earth in that time are slim—only 1-in-1,750
—and the most likely dates for an impact wouldn’t be until the late 2100s or early 2200s. Meanwhile,
NASA is working on a plan to deflect killer asteroids. In 2022, the agency slammed a spacecraft into a
500-foot-wide asteroid. The test was a success, significantly knocking the asteroid off its trajectory and
breaking off some of its rocky surface into a dusty debris tail. Although the technique would only work in
specific situations, it’s reassuring to know that we might not go the way of the dinosaurs after all.