Earth's planetary defenses against asteroids

On the Phys.org website today, there is a summary article on a recent planetary defense exercise involving the real asteroid Apophis:

https://phys.org/news/2022-05-planetary-defense-asteroid-apophis-hazardous.html

The detailed results of this exercise are published today in The Planetary Science Journal.

Earth's planetary defences may be up to dealing with the real asteroid Apophis. But how about the Goa'uld System-Lord Apophis? (TV Stargate franchise).

>2 Cynfelyn: My thoughts exactly. We had better start digging under the ice in Antartica.

Yes, or at least begin to deploy ground-penetrating radar technology there. As of October 2022, the NASA website has a short video movie (12 minutes) on Project WISE (renamed NEOWISE), which was originally created to report on the universe, but now has been re-purposed to study asteroids or any other objects approaching the region of Earth's solar system. Link to the NEOWISE video clip:

https://neowise.ipac.caltech.edu/news/neowise20221018/

Here is the 2023 NASA plan to study the asteroid Apophis in its next passage by Earth in 2029:

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2023-02-14/earth-will-have-a-close-encount...

A new approach to finding potential Earth/asteroid collisions:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-algorithm-spots-potentially-hazardous-near-eart...

If there are any other updates on this innovative use of AI, please post them here. Thank you.

photo of returned sample

NASA’s First Asteroid Sample Has Landed, Now Secure in Clean Room Is a post at the Nasa site welcoming back the OSIRIS-REx mission which got a sample of the asteroid Bennu and has now returned it to earth on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023.

Osiris-Rex: Asteroid Bennu 'is a journey back to our origins' Is a great explanatory BBC article on Bennu and a video of the actual collection of the sample. Acknowledgement of "rock legend and astrophysicist Dr Sir Brian May. The Queen guitarist is an expert in stereo imaging." and his contribution is explained. The size of the asteroid compared to objects on earth is also shown.

wiki actual photo of Bennu

Asteroid Bennu could shatter Earth. Here’s how Sunday’s OSIRIS-REx mission will stop it
Is another great BBC article that emphasizes the fact that Bennu is on a VERY possible collision course with earth in 159 years at last calculation. I was not at all aware of this & find it hard to understand why the fact was not pointed out more often by scientists. A couple of quotes from the article:

" There’s a higher chance of the asteroid striking the Earth than you finding a four-leaf clover. Scientists have 160 years to deflect it."

another; "That’s because exactly 159 years later to the day, Bennu may strike the Earth with so much force that continents could divide."