National Near Miss Day is a holiday that’s observed on March 23rd to commemorate a very scary event that happened at the end of the 1980s. On March 23, 1989, an asteroid nearly struck the Earth, but fortunately flew right on by.

This was asteroid 4581 Asclepius and it was the size of a football field and came within half a million miles of making contact with our planet. That might not seem like a close call to most people, but on a planetary scale, it was indeed a very close call. If the asteroid would’ve made contact with the Earth, then things would’ve been pretty bad.

Facts About 4581 Asclepius

Since we almost got hit by 4581 Asclepius in 1989, we thought that we’d give everyone a little bit more information on this asteroid.

• This object is considered to be an Apollo-Class Asteroid.
• It’s about the size of a football field.
• This asteroid was discovered by Henry E. Holt and Norman G. Thomas.
• It orbits the sun every 1.03-years.
• On March 24, 2051, this asteroid will get within 0.0122 A.U of the Earth.
• It has an inclination of 4.9-degrees.

Observing National Near Miss Day

This is a great day for everyone to take the time to learn more about asteroids and their potential for striking the planet. This can be done by visiting NASA, particularly their Asteroid Watch Program. While you’re learning more about asteroids, use the hashtag #NationalNearMissDay on your social media accounts to spread the word about it.