Comet almost hit earth

Astronomers believe a comet narrowly missed hitting earth in 1883.  Kinda frightening but interesting at the same time. Two asteroids passed very near earth recently. Not close enough to hit our planet, but close enough that in astronomical terms it was a very near miss. A few thousand miles.  This kind of stuff fascinates me because if you look up at the moon, you can see craters of varying sizes.  The craters are the result of asteroids or something striking the surface of the moon.  If the moon has that many craters, how many similar objects have struck the Earth?  Most burn up in the atmosphere as falling stars, but some do not burn up completely.  Meteor fragments are found all over the world.  There is a giant crater in Arizona.  Some scientists believe the Gulf of Mexico is a giant crater resulting from the meteor that struck the earth millions of years ago and might be the impact site of the meteor that killed all of the dinosaurs.  Some doomsday people believe a meteor striking the Earth is why the Mayan calender ends in 2012.  One thing to consider:  outer space is vast.  The chance of one celestial object striking another is very slim.  But it has obviously happened in the past. 

I was reading the latest edition of Astronomy magazine last night.  One article was titled:  View Uranus with your naked eye.  My first thought was:  I ain't that flexible. 

Have a good one.