Astronomers believe that, on average, one asteroid larger than 0.4 km strikes Earth every 50,000 years. Some 65 million years ago a 10 km diameter asteroid crashing to Earth may have been responsible for wiping out the dinosaurs. It would have caused a catastrophic explosion, affecting the climate and chemical composition of the atmosphere and destroying the plants and animals on which the dinosaurs fed. As recently as 1991 a small asteriod came within 170,600 km of Earth, the closest recorded near miss. On 30 Jan 2052 is asteroid is predicted to pass as close as 119,678 km.
The names of the months in English (as well in many other languages) come from Latin Words. January Januarius – this month was dedicated to Janus, the Roman god of doors. Janus had two faces, one looking back at the old year and the other looking forward to the new year. February Februarius – Februa was the Roman purification festival, which took place at this time of year. March Martius – from Mars, the Roman god of war. April Aprilis – from aperire, Latin for open, because plants begin to open during this month. May Maius – probably comes from Maia, the Roman goddess of growth and increase. June Junius – either from a Roman family name junius, which means young, or perhaps after the goddess Juno. July Julius – after julius Caesar. This month was na
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