4581 Asclepius

Date: 3/23/1989

Astronomers Dr. Henry Holt and Norman G. Thomas discovered a 300-meter space rock, which geophysicists declared would have created an explosion twelve times more powerful than the Tsar Bomba: the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. Estimated calculations had Asclepius missing Earth by 430,000 miles, passing through the exact position the planet stood six hours earlier. To quote Dr. Holt, "On a cosmic scale of things, that was a close call." No kidding, Doc.