23 March is annually celebrated as National Near Miss Day to commemorate the asteroid (4581 Asclepius) nearly hitting the Earth in 1989.
On 22–23 March 1989 a mountain-size asteroid came within 500 000 miles of colliding with the Earth. Doctor Henry Holt said, “On the cosmic scale of things, that was a close call”.
The asteroid was discovered on 31 March 1989, nine days after its closest approach to Earth. According to geophysicists a collision with Asclepius would have released energy comparable to that of a 600 megaton atomic bomb. A collision would have had a catastrophic affect on our planet.
But, this was not the only near miss that occurred. Other similar events have happened on an infrequent basis.
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