I recently looked at a list of potentially hazardous (read earth-smacking) asteroids:
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/Dangerous.html
Yipes! The closest (known) approach this century is set for December 12, 2004, when object 2000 LB16 passes within a mere 220,000 miles of our planet.
How big is it? Could be 1 km across.
When did we discover it? I don’t know. Sometime in 2000.
OH MY GOD!
You mean it will pass as close as the Moon!?!?!:rolleyes:
For those interested in this sort of thing, I would like to introduce The Torino Scale.
http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/torino/
I am a big fan of scales such as this. You know the famous ones:
Richter – http://www.matter.org.uk/Schools/Content/Seismology/richterscale.html
Saffir-Simpson – http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.html
Fujita – http://www.vcsc.k12.in.us/lincoln/essci/fisher/Fujita_Scale/fujita_scale.html
But there are scales for measuring just about anything, like the potential for wildfire during a drought (rather timely):
Keetch-Byram Drought Index – http://www.inu.net/ticc/KBDI_Fact_Sheet.htm
Anywho…
Someone call Bruce Willis! Quick!
Crap, it’s slowing down!!! Call Will Smith!!!
ROFL@ Will Smith …
I needed that laugh 
Ya know, if it hit the moon, that’d be cool.
2000 LB16 was discovered June 7, 2000.
I wonder if we’ll be able to see it as it goes by?