'Where is the Damn Asteroid?' Restless Humans Pass Time With Memes as 720-foot Rock Misses Earth

The popular Hindi phrase, “Dharti nigal gai ya aasman kha gaya [The Earth swallowed or the sky ate it],” seems to have come to life after an asteroid that was hurtling towards Earth misses it. The massive asteroid named 2024 ON, twice the length of a cricket pitch and travelling at a concerning speed of 40,233 km/h, failed to hit Earth on September 17. The potentially hazardous 720-foot asteroid was discovered on July 27 by the Atlas Sky Survey and it will come closest to Earth tomorrow, September 17.

As the asteroid safely flew past the Earth, social media users, true to their nature, wasted no time turning the near-miss into a meme-worthy moment, flooding timelines with humour-filled “disappointment”. One X (formerly known as Twitter) user jumped in on the fun with a classic Hera Pheri meme, featuring Paresh Rawal’s iconic dialogue, “Ab tak toh usko aa jana chahiye tha [By now, it should have reached],” in reference to the colossal rock.

Another user chimed in with Sunny Deol’s iconic “tareekh par tareekh” dialogue, humorously lamenting the asteroid’s delayed encounter with Earth. As the massive rock missed its mark, the meme captured the playful frustration of waiting, with Earth now eyeing the asteroid’s next closest approach on September 17

This is what an Internet user shared after the asteroid “missed the Earth”.

And, of course, how could cricket fans resist giving Dhoni the credit for “smashing the asteroid with his bat and saving us all”? For Thala’s loyal followers, Dhoni is the ultimate hero—whether it’s winning a nail-biting cricket match or, in this case, saving the world from a celestial disaster! After all, for Dhoni fans, no challenge is too big when their captain is at the crease!

No meme frenzy, and we mean none, is ever complete without the disappointed Pakistani cricket fan making an appearance. His iconic expression is a staple for memes and show up when collective disappointment needs a face!

After the massive rock missed Earth, many probably want to “say” this:

One X user perfectly captured the “people’s emotions” after the asteroid missed Earth, using a hilarious clip from the 2010 comedy No Problem. The post brought humour to the sigh of relief—and maybe a little disappointment—that the cosmic event didn’t go as “expected”.

On September 17, 2024, asteroid 2024 ON will pass within approximately 1 million kilometres from Earth. This distance, equivalent to 2.6 times the average lunar distance, underscores the potential risks posed by near-Earth objects (NEOs). According to the JPL Center for NEO Studies (CNEOS), similar close encounters occur about once every ten years on average.