WELL, well, well… looks like the cosmos has been playing a rather dangerous game of cosmic dodgeball with our little blue planet lately.

Just last month, an asteroid decided to swing by for a close encounter of the too-close-for-comfort kind, zipping past us at a distance closer than the Moon.

And as if that wasn’t enough celestial excitement, another space rock thought it’d be fun to buzz by just two days earlier.

But before we start feeling too special, let’s remember that we’re not the only ones getting attention from these cosmic visitors.

On June 30, we marked the anniversary of the 1908 Tunguska Event, when Mother Nature decided to do some extreme landscaping in Siberia.

An exploding asteroid flattened trees for 100 kilometres in all directions, giving the area a rather dramatic makeover.

Imagine if that had been a city!

The local farmer, Semen Semenov, got a free 50-yard flight across his yard and a complimentary heat treatment that left him wondering whether to keep his shirt on or risk it spontaneously combusting.

Fast forward to 1954, and we have the case of Ann Hodges in Sylacauga, Alabama.

There she was, minding her own business on her sofa, when a meteorite decided to crash her relaxation session by bursting through the ceiling and giving her upper thigh a cosmic love tap that left a permanent mark.

But the real showstopper came in 2013 in good old Siberia.

On February 15, while everyone was distracted by a known asteroid making its scheduled fly-by, another space rock snuck in from the Sun’s direction and threw a surprise party 25 km above the city of Chelyabinsk.

This celestial gate crasher was travelling at fifteen or 20 kilometres per second and injured over a thousand people. When the flash lit up the sky, everyone rushed to their windows for a peek.

Bad move.

The shock wave that followed a few minutes later turned those windows into confetti!

Now, before you start wearing a helmet 24/7, remember that these events are relatively rare.

Sure, we’re constantly pelted by space debris, but most of it is no bigger than apple seeds.

City-destroying asteroids come by once every few centuries.

And if you’re worried about a planet-wide extinction event?

Well, those only come around every 100 million years or so.

Talk about playing the long game!

Each year, Earth is bombarded by approximately 40,000 tonnes of meteorite material. Interestingly, one of the best places to find bits of meteorites is on your roof or in your downpipe, where they often accumulate after falling from the sky. True!

Every year an unexpected visitor in the form of a space rock clobbers someone’s property.

These cosmic house calls usually result in a hole in the roof, a dented floor, and a valuable souvenir for the homeowner.

Some claim we’re six times more likely to meet our maker via meteor than in a plane crash, but don’t cancel your flight plans just yet.

You’re still far more likely to be done in by that bacon cheeseburger or that “last” cigarette.

But hey, if you do happen to see a bright flash in the sky, maybe resist the urge to press your face against the window for a better look.

After all, in the cosmic game of peek-a-boo, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

By Dave RENEKE