Near Miss

June 6, 2002 - On this day, a big space rock tumbled into the Earth's atmosphere and exploded over the eastern Mediterranean (between Libya and Greece). The asteroid was about 30 feet in diameter and was almost completely disintegrated by the time it hit the water. No traces were ever found.

The explosion was detected on plenty of seismographs, and the power of the blast is estimated at about 26 kilotons of TNT (twice the size of the explosion at Hiroshima). Had this event occurred over a populated area the results could have been catastrophic.

Adding to the drama, India and Pakistan were in the middle of a military standoff with both nations holding nuclear arsenals. If the explosion had happened closer to this region, it very easily could have triggered a doomsday scenario.