Happy National Near Miss Day! From a national view, each day many of us face a near miss here and there.
March 23rd commemorates the day the entire Earth faced a near miss when a massive asteroid (4581 Asclepius) nearly hit us in 1989. National Near Miss Day celebrates the day 4581 Asclepius flew right on by.
On March 22-23, 1989, a mountain-sized asteroid (4581 Asclepius) came within five hundred thousand miles of colliding with Earth. It wasn't discovered until nine days later.
“On the cosmic scale of things, that was a close call,” said Dr. Henry Holt.
Geophysicists estimate that a collision with Asclepius would release energy comparable to the explosion of a six hundred megaton atomic bomb.
A collision would have had catastrophic effects on our planet. Scientists discovered the asteroid on March 31, 1989 – nine days after its closest approach to Earth.
There have been other near misses that have happened on an infrequent basis.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Have you ever had a near miss? This might be the day to share the story. There are several ways to celebrate this day.
- • Share stories about near misses. Write it out or share a video.
- • Read about other near misses or not so near misses. Like the one known human to have been struck by a meteorite, Ann Hodges.
- • Watch videos about asteroids, meteors, and meteorites, like the one below.
To read more about Ann Hodges, visit the website below:
Use #NationalNearMissDay to post on social media.
HISTORY
While the origin of the observance is obvious, the creator of the day is considered nearly missing from our sources. However, National Day Calendar® suspect the person to be a stargazer of sorts.
#NatinoalNearMissDay
@NASA
@nichecinema
