Of possibly even more earth-shaking signifance is the 'birth' (discovery) of the asteroid christened 1999 AN₁₀, which according to Minor Planet Electronic Circular 1999-B03 was first observed by astronomers at the MIT-USAF Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research Project (LINEAR) at 11:58:27 UT (06:58:27 PM MST) on JAN 13, 1999 at the White Sands Missile Range NM (106W37, 32N22). 1999 AN₁₀ is the kilometer-wide NEO (Near Earth Object) which is due for a close encounter with our home planet in 2039. Considering the little bugger's zodiacal position at discovery (0 Leo 34, almost exactly opposing Neptune), I suspect this is one case where Earth dodges another cosmic bullet. But with Mars opposing Saturn in the discovery chart and Venus conjunct Uranus, it might take some feats of technological derring-do to ensure that a miss is good as a mile sometime in 2039 or 2044.