Meteoroid Impacts as a Source of Bennu's Particle Ejection Events

Asteroid (101955) Bennu, a near‐Earth object with a primitive carbonaceous chondrite‐like composition, was observed by the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security‐Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS‐REx) spacecraft to undergo multiple particle ejection events near perihelion between December 2018 and February 2019. The three largest events observed during this period, which all occurred 3.5 to 6 hr after local noon, placed numerous particles
Key Points Meteoroids derived from comets strike Bennu near perihelion once every 2 weeks on average with an impact kinetic energy >7,000 JThey can explain the particle sizes (