Apply Preparation H for this Asteroid

If you are reading this on the morning/early afternoon of January 18, sometime before 4:51 PM, it's not too late to warn you of what's going to happen at that fateful moment.

If you are reading it after that point, and the best estimates by skywatchers at NASA were off by 1.2 million miles, what had happened was that an asteroid that NASA calls a "Near-Earth object" collided with Earth. It's as close as this big hugger will come to earth for the next 200 years. In that matter, it's like a Meatloaf reunion tour. 

This asteroid is officially known as 7482, but his friends call him "7." He's supposed to do a drive-by this afternoon in a Ford Galaxie (what else?) at a speed of about 43,754 mph, according to NASA.

“Near-Earth #asteroid 1994 PC1 (~1 km wide) is very well known and has been studied for decades by our #PlanetaryDefense experts. Rest assured, 1994 PC1 will safely fly past our planet 1.2 million miles away.”

NASA tweeted the above last week, a remarkable feat in itself, considering that they typed with one hand. The other was busy crossing its fingers.

I couldn't find a picture of the asteroid, but doesn't this potato chip look just like it?

The asteroid is more than twice as big as the Empire State Building.

And who doesn't love reading that there is "no threat" that the asteroid will land on Cleveland or something?  NASA still says it's a “potentially hazardous object” because it's so doggone big and so far away.

It's not quite big enough to see with the naked eye, so put some clothes on and try using that telescope that Aunt Hildegarde got you in tenth grade instead of the gram scale you really wanted. Just don't get too close to the window. Or watch the fiery end on the Virtual Telescope Project’s livestream, which will begin its feed starting at noon with a cartoon festival.

Listen, I'm not foretelling anything wrong, but remember, the Titanic was built by experts.