An asteroid hit Earth, and fortunately we’re all still alive! Most Americans probably didn’t even realize that a rock, about the size of a car, burst into the atmosphere and burned up over Africa earlier today.
 

Scientists couldn’t be more thrilled, though. The firey display marked the first time scientists have predicted an asteroid impact, even if that “prediction” came only six hours before the collision.
 

The asteroid, named 2008 TC3, was spotted by an observatory in Arizona. Had the rock not been so dark and small though, astronomers believe they would have seen it sooner and been able to warn the world farther in advance. The Daily Mail explains:

Tim Spahr, head of Harvard's Minor Planet Centre, added: 'If this were something larger and it was going to hit the ground, we would be able to get people out of the way.'

That all sounds well and good, especially if the asteroid (which, for you science lovers out there, technically becomes a meteor once it enters Earth’s atmosphere) is the size of a Smart Car... But what happens when it’s the size of Texas like in Armageddon?
 

We can only hope and pray that when this catastrophic event eventually does happen, Bruce Willis will be around to save us all.