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Cosmic impact : understanding the threat to earth from asteroids and comets / Andrew May.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: Hot science (London, England)Publisher: London, England : Icon Books ltd, 2019Copyright date: ©2019Description: 167 pages : illustrations ; 20 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781785784934
  • 1785784935
Subject(s): LOC classification:
  • QB651 .M39 2019
Contents:
Asteroid apocalypse -- Rocks in space -- Collision course -- Death from the skies -- Cosmic connections -- Mapping the threat -- Planetary defence -- A question of when, not if.
Summary: As end-of-the-world scenarios go, an apocalyptic collision with an asteroid or comet is the new kid on the block, gaining respectability only in the last decade of the 20th century with the realisation that the dinosaurs had been wiped out by just such an impact. Now the science community is making up for lost time, with worldwide efforts to track the thousands of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects, and plans for high-tech hardware that could deflect an incoming object from a collision course - a procedure depicted, with little regard for scientific accuracy, in several Hollywood movies. Astrophysicist and science writer Andrew May disentangles fact from fiction in this fast-moving and entertaining account, covering the nature and history of comets and asteroids, the reason why some orbits are more hazardous than others, the devastating local and global effects that an impact event would produce, and - more optimistically - the way future space missions could avert a catastrophe.
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Non-Fiction Davis (Central) Library Non-Fiction Non-Fiction 523.44 MAY Available T00815042
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:



As end-of-the-world scenarios go, an apocalyptic collision with an
asteroid or comet is the new kid on the block, gaining respectability only in
the last decade of the 20th century with the realisation that the dinosaurs had
been wiped out by just such an impact.



Now the science community is making up for lost time, with
worldwide efforts to track the thousands of potentially hazardous near-Earth
objects, and plans for high-tech hardware that could deflect an incoming object
from a collision course - a procedure depicted, with little regard for
scientific accuracy, in several Hollywood movies.



Astrophysicist and science writer Andrew May disentangles
fact from fiction in this fast-moving and entertaining account, covering the
nature and history of comets and asteroids, the reason why some orbits are more
hazardous than others, the devastating local and global effects that an impact
event would produce, and - more optimistically - the way future space missions
could avert a catastrophe.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Asteroid apocalypse -- Rocks in space -- Collision course -- Death from the skies -- Cosmic connections -- Mapping the threat -- Planetary defence -- A question of when, not if.

As end-of-the-world scenarios go, an apocalyptic collision with an asteroid or comet is the new kid on the block, gaining respectability only in the last decade of the 20th century with the realisation that the dinosaurs had been wiped out by just such an impact. Now the science community is making up for lost time, with worldwide efforts to track the thousands of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects, and plans for high-tech hardware that could deflect an incoming object from a collision course - a procedure depicted, with little regard for scientific accuracy, in several Hollywood movies. Astrophysicist and science writer Andrew May disentangles fact from fiction in this fast-moving and entertaining account, covering the nature and history of comets and asteroids, the reason why some orbits are more hazardous than others, the devastating local and global effects that an impact event would produce, and - more optimistically - the way future space missions could avert a catastrophe.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • 1 Asteroid Apocalypse (p. 1)
  • 2 Rocks in Space (p. 13)
  • 3 Collision Course (p. 35)
  • 4 Death from the Skies (p. 53)
  • 5 Cosmic Connections (p. 79)
  • 6 Mapping the Threat (p. 99)
  • 7 Planetary Defence (p. 125)
  • 8 A Question of When, not If (p. 145)
  • Further Reading (p. 157)
  • Index (p. 161)

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