Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids

Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids PDF Author: Tom Gehrels
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 9780816515059
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1340

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Book Description
In 1993, the U.S. Department of Defense declassified information dealing with frequent explosions in the upper atmosphere caused by meteoric impact. It is estimated that impacts have occurred of a magnitude equivalent to the atomic bomb detonated at Hiroshima. Not all such space voyagers meet their end in the atmosphere, however; huge craters attest to the bombardment of earth over millions of years, and a major impact may have resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs. An impact in Siberia near the beginning of this century proves that such events are not confined to geologic time. Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids marks a significant step in the attempt to come to grips with the threats posed by such phenomena. It brings together more than one hundred scientists from around the world, who draw on observational and theoretical research to focus on the technical problems related to all aspects of dealing with these hazards: searching for and identifying hazardous comets and asteroids; describing their statistics and characteristics; intercepting and altering the orbits of dangerous objects; and applying existent technologies—rocket boosters, rendezvous and soft-landing techniques, instrumentation—to such missions. The book considers defensive options for diverting or disrupting an approaching body, including solar sails, kinetic-energy impacts, nuclear explosives, robotic mass drivers, and various propulsion systems. A cataclysmic impact posing a threat to life on Earth is a possibility that tomorrow's technology is capable of averting. This book examines in depth the reality of the threat and proposes practical measures that can be initiated now should we ever need to deal with it.

Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids

Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids PDF Author: Tom Gehrels
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 9780816515059
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1340

Get Book Here

Book Description
In 1993, the U.S. Department of Defense declassified information dealing with frequent explosions in the upper atmosphere caused by meteoric impact. It is estimated that impacts have occurred of a magnitude equivalent to the atomic bomb detonated at Hiroshima. Not all such space voyagers meet their end in the atmosphere, however; huge craters attest to the bombardment of earth over millions of years, and a major impact may have resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs. An impact in Siberia near the beginning of this century proves that such events are not confined to geologic time. Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids marks a significant step in the attempt to come to grips with the threats posed by such phenomena. It brings together more than one hundred scientists from around the world, who draw on observational and theoretical research to focus on the technical problems related to all aspects of dealing with these hazards: searching for and identifying hazardous comets and asteroids; describing their statistics and characteristics; intercepting and altering the orbits of dangerous objects; and applying existent technologies—rocket boosters, rendezvous and soft-landing techniques, instrumentation—to such missions. The book considers defensive options for diverting or disrupting an approaching body, including solar sails, kinetic-energy impacts, nuclear explosives, robotic mass drivers, and various propulsion systems. A cataclysmic impact posing a threat to life on Earth is a possibility that tomorrow's technology is capable of averting. This book examines in depth the reality of the threat and proposes practical measures that can be initiated now should we ever need to deal with it.

Seven Wonders of Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors

Seven Wonders of Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors PDF Author: Ron Miller
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
ISBN: 0761372792
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
From earliest times, humans have wondered about the sky above them and have studied all visible objects. People began to identify differences between stars and planets, and as technology advanced with telescopes and space probes, they sought deeper understanding of the millions of bits of debris rocketing through the solar system. Scientists determined that most of these objects are left over from the creation of the planets and their moons. They classified these leftovers into categories such as asteroids, comets, and meteors. In this book, we'll explore seven wonders of asteroids, comets, and meteors. Ceres is a huge mountain-sized asteroid that orbits with other asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. Other marvels include Ganymede, the largest asteroid in the group called Earthgrazers or Near-Earth Objects, and Halley's comet, a ball of ice, that passes Earth every seventy-five or so years. We'll also explore the amazing impact that space debris can have on planets and moons. The Borealis Basin, a wondrous crater more than 5,000 miles across, formed when an asteroid collided with Mars in the ancient past. Then we will travel to the far-off Kuiper belt, where as many as 200 million icy bodies orbit, and wonder at the mystery of planetlike objects, such as Pluto and Charon. Finally, we’ll can experience a space wonder firsthand by standing outside on a night in August to watch the spectacular Perseid meteor shower fill the sky.

Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors

Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors PDF Author: Dennis B. Fradin
Publisher: Children's Press(CT)
ISBN: 9780516017235
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
Describes in simple terms the meteors, comets, and asteroids that are part of our solar system and discusses the various theories concerning their origin and their effect on life on Earth.

Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids

Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids PDF Author: Seymour Simon
Publisher: Paw Prints
ISBN: 9781442057449
Category : Asteroids
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Explores how comets, meteors, and asteroids move through our solar system, and explains the ingredients that make a comet's tail and other topics

Asteroids, Comets and Meteors

Asteroids, Comets and Meteors PDF Author: Rosalind Mist
Publisher: QED Publishing
ISBN: 9781845389666
Category : Asteroids
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"An introduction to asteroids, comets, and meteors, including what they are made of, where they are, and how they interact with other bodies of the solar system"--Provided by publisher.

Comet/Asteroid Impacts and Human Society

Comet/Asteroid Impacts and Human Society PDF Author: Peter T. Bobrowsky
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540327118
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 549

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Book Description
Leading specialists in various disciplines were first invited to a multidisciplinary workshop funded by ICSU on the topic to gain a better appreciation and perspective on the subject of comet/asteroid impacts as viewed by different disciplines. This volume provides a necessary link between various disciplines and comet/asteroid impacts.

Catching Stardust

Catching Stardust PDF Author: Natalie Starkey
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472944038
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
'Astonishing' - New Scientist Icy, rocky, sometimes dusty, always mysterious – comets and asteroids are among the Solar System's very oldest inhabitants, formed within a swirling cloud of gas and dust in the area of space that eventually hosted the Sun and its planets. Locked within each of these extra-terrestrial objects is the 4.6-billion-year wisdom of Solar System events, and by studying them at close quarters using spacecraft we can coerce them into revealing their closely-guarded secrets. This offers us the chance to answer some fundamental questions about our planet and its inhabitants. Exploring comets and asteroids also allows us to shape the story of Earth's future, enabling us to protect our precious planet from the threat of a catastrophic impact from space, and maybe to even recover valuable raw materials from them. This cosmic bounty could be as useful in space as it is on Earth, providing the necessary fuel and supplies for humans as they voyage into deep space to explore more distant locations within the Solar System. Catching Stardust tells the story of these enigmatic celestial objects, revealing how scientists are using them to help understand a crucial time in our history – the birth of the Solar System, and everything contained within it.

Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets

Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets PDF Author: Peter Jenniskens
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316347826
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 804

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Book Description
Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets is a unique handbook for astronomers interested in observing meteor storms and outbursts. Spectacular displays of 'shooting stars' are created when the Earth's orbit crosses a meteoroid stream, as each meteoroid causes a bright light when it enters our atmosphere at high speed. Jenniskens, an active meteor storm chaser, explains how meteoroid streams originate from the decay of meteoroids, comets and asteroids, and how they cause meteor showers on Earth. He includes the findings of recent space missions to comets and asteroids, the risk of meteor impacts on Earth, and how meteor showers may have seeded the Earth with ingredients that made life possible. All known meteor showers are identified, accompanied by fascinating details on the most important showers and their parent comets. The book predicts when exceptional meteor showers will occur over the next fifty years, making it a valuable resource for both amateur and professional astronomers.

Killer Rocks from Outer Space

Killer Rocks from Outer Space PDF Author: Steven N. Koppes
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
ISBN: 9780822528616
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
Describes the role that collisions with meteors, comets, and asteroids have played in the history of Earth and other planets in the solar system and examines what is being done to protect Earth from future collisions.

Mitigation of Hazardous Comets and Asteroids

Mitigation of Hazardous Comets and Asteroids PDF Author: M. J. S. Belton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521827645
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
It is known that large asteroids and comets can collide with the Earth with severe consequences. Although the chances of a collision in a person's lifetime are small, collisions are a random process and could occur at any time. This book collects the latest thoughts and ideas of scientists concerned with mitigating the threat of hazardous asteroids and comets. It reviews current knowledge of the population of potential colliders, including their numbers, locations, orbits, and how warning times might be improved. The structural properties and composition of their interiors and surfaces are reviewed, and their orbital response to the application of pulses of energy is discussed. Difficulties of operating in space near, or on the surface of, very low mass objects are examined. The book concludes with a discussion of the problems faced in communicating the nature of the impact hazard to the public.