Download or read book Comet and Asteroid Impact Hazards on a Populated Earth written by John S. Lewis and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disk contains: HAZARDS version 5.5, designed to predict asteroid or comet impacts with the Earth.
Download or read book Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids written by Tom Gehrels and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2021-11-30 with total page 1317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Asteroid Impact Risk written by Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-03-08 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes the complexity of impact hazards associated with asteroids and comets. The challenge in this regard lies in the heterogeneous nature of these bodies that endanger our planet, which is why we are conducting new experiments to better understand their unique physicochemical properties. Several generations of astronomers have tracked and mapped the orbits of asteroids and comets over the past few centuries, and telescopic surveys have only begun to discover “new” interstellar objects. In addition, cutting-edge software allow our computers to combine the orbits of these elusive bodies to study how they evolve over time and seek to match asteroid complexes as fragments of asteroidal and cometary disruptions. Impact hazards represent one of the greatest threats to the survival of human beings in the medium term. Geological studies show that the stratigraphic record holds clear geological evidence of these rare but transcendental encounters in the history of life on our planet. The study and quantification of past catastrophes can give us clues to face future challenges in the form of potential impacts. Further, it would be illogical to assume that Earth’s interaction with space is limited to major impacts. Every night, Earth is struck by millions of particles, and dozens of meteor showers occur around the globe every year. The study of lake and ocean sediments reveals the magnitude of the continuous contribution of interplanetary matter reaching Earth: roughly 100,000 tons per year. Accordingly, the goal of this book is to underscore the need for society-wide awareness of the dangers associated with asteroid and comet impacts, on the basis of scientific evidence and with no intention of sparking alarmism. After all, we ourselves may only be the fruit of an opportunity given to mammals sixty-five million years ago to evolve after the conflagration that would be the downfall of the dinosaurs. If we have learned to read Earth’s geological history, we should consider ourselves a very fortunate species, and its teachings should equip us to face this problem. The also book emphasizes the role of space missions to gain insights on these bodies, particularly describing the relevance of the DART (NASA) and Hera (ESA) missions to deflect and study Dimorphos, respectively, the small satellite of the Didymos binary asteroid.
Download or read book Comet Asteroid Impacts and Human Society written by Peter T. Bobrowsky and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-06-10 with total page 549 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Mitigation of Hazardous Comets and Asteroids written by M. J. S. Belton and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004-09-06 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Assessment and Mitigation of Asteroid Impact Hazards written by Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-12-19 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is a compilation of the research presented at the International Asteroid Day workshop which was celebrated at Barcelona on June 30th, 2015. The proceedings discuss the beginning of a new era in the study and exploration of the solar system’s minor bodies. International Asteroid Day commemorates the Tunguska event of June 30th, 1908. The workshop’s goal was to promote the importance of dealing proactively with impact hazards from space. Multidisciplinary experts contributed to this discussion by describing the nature of comets and asteroids along with their offspring, meteoroids. New missions to return material samples of asteroids back to Earth such as Osiris-REx and Hayabusa 2, as well as projects like AIM and DART which will test impact deflection techniques for Potentially Hazardous Asteroids encounters were also covered. The proceedings include both an outreach level to popularize impact hazards and a scientific character which covers the latest knowledge on these topics, as well as offering proposals of promising new techniques that will help gain new insights of the properties of these challenging bodies by studying meteoroids and meteorites. Asteroids, comets, meteoroids and meteorites are introduced with descriptions of their nature, origin, and solar system pathways.
Download or read book Defending Planet Earth written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-07-21 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States spends approximately $4 million each year searching for near-Earth objects (NEOs). The objective is to detect those that may collide with Earth. The majority of this funding supports the operation of several observatories that scan the sky searching for NEOs. This, however, is insufficient in detecting the majority of NEOs that may present a tangible threat to humanity. A significantly smaller amount of funding supports ways to protect the Earth from such a potential collision or "mitigation." In 2005, a Congressional mandate called for NASA to detect 90 percent of NEOs with diameters of 140 meters of greater by 2020. Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies identifies the need for detection of objects as small as 30 to 50 meters as these can be highly destructive. The book explores four main types of mitigation including civil defense, "slow push" or "pull" methods, kinetic impactors and nuclear explosions. It also asserts that responding effectively to hazards posed by NEOs requires national and international cooperation. Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies is a useful guide for scientists, astronomers, policy makers and engineers.
Download or read book Handbook of Cosmic Hazards and Planetary Defense written by Joseph N. Pelton and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-04-27 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers in a comprehensive fashion all aspects of cosmic hazards and possible strategies for contending with these threats through a comprehensive planetary defense strategy. This handbook brings together in a single reference work a rich blend of information about the various types of cosmic threats that are posed to human civilization by asteroids, comets, bolides, meteors, solar flares and coronal mass ejections, cosmic radiation and other types of threats that are only recently beginning to be understood and studied, such as investigation of the “cracks” in the protective shield provided by the Van Allen belts and the geomagnetosphere, of matter-antimatter collisions, orbital debris and radiological or biological contamination. Some areas that are addressed involve areas about which there is a good deal of information that has been collected for many decades by multiple space missions run by many different space agencies, observatories and scientific researchers. Other areas involving research and studies that have only recently gotten underway are discussed by some of the world’s foremost experts in each of these areas, who provide up-to-date and scientifically verifiable information. Although much of the work in these various areas have been conducted by space agencies, an expanding range of work is also being carried out by observatories, by universities and other research centers, and even by private foundations and professional organizations. The purpose of this work is thus several-fold: to include the latest information and most systematic research from around the world in a single reference work; to note where there are significant gaps in knowledge where new research, spacecraft, observatories, or other initiatives are needed to fill in critical missing information; and to give the best possible information about preventative actions that might be taken against cosmic threats and identify various alternative strategies that are now under way or planned to cope with these various threats.
Download or read book The Asteroid Threat written by William E. Burrows and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2014-06-10 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a realistic, workable plan for defusing a potentially lethal threat from a rogue asteroid or comet. The explosion of a large meteor over Chelyabinsk, Siberia, in February 2013 is just the latest reminder that planet Earth is vulnerable to damaging and potentially catastrophic collisions with space debris of various kinds. In this informative and forward-looking book, veteran aerospace writer William E. Burrows explains what we can do in the future to avoid far more serious impacts from "Near-Earth Objects" (NEOs), as they are called in the planetary defense community. The good news is that humanity is now equipped with the advanced technology necessary to devise a long-term strategy to protect the planet. Burrows outlines the following key features of an effective planetary defense strategy: * A powerful space surveillance system capable of spotting a serious threat from space at least twenty-five years in advance * A space craft "nudge" that would throw a collision-course asteroid off target long before it poses the threat of imminent impact * A weapons system to be used as a last-ditch method to blast an NEO should all else fail. The author notes the many benefits for world stability and increasing international cooperation resulting from a united worldwide effort to protect the planet. Combining realism with an optimistic can-do attitude, Burrows shows that humanity is capable of overcoming a potentially calamitous situation.
Download or read book Science in context written by and published by . This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This topic describes the low-probability but high-consequence hazard posed to Earth by asteroids and comets. The book introduces the astronomy of Solar System bodies and describes the evidence for past impacts on Earth, both small impacts such as Barringer Crater that formed 50,000 years ago and extremely rare events such as the end-Cretaceous impacts at Chicxulub. The book also examines the consequences of a major impact on present-day Earth and the progress towards detecting the potentially threatening bodies that orbit close to the Earth.
Download or read book Asteroid and Comet Impact Hazards written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents information about asteroid and comet impact hazards, compiled by the Ames Space Science Division of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Mountain View, California. Defines Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and describes related NASA programs. Offers access to reports, photographs, and related materials.
Download or read book Catastrophic Events Caused by Cosmic Objects written by Vitaly Adushkin and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-10-09 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An asteroid or comet will inevitably strike the Earth some day, and potentially cause great destruction. This volume considers hazards due to collisions with cosmic objects, particularly in light of recent investigations of impacts by the authors. Each chapter, written by an expert, contains an overview of an aspect and new findings in the field. Coverage describes and numerically estimates the main hazardous effects.
Download or read book Impact Earth written by Austen Atkinson and published by Virgin Books Limited. This book was released on 1999 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As more asteroids enter our solar system, our chances of a collision increase by the day. This work examines the impact phenomenon describing the importance of Deathrock collisions in the Earth's history, the potential dangers and alleged cover-ups of near misses.
Download or read book Asteroids III written by William Frederick Bottke and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 818 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two hundred years after the first asteroid was discovered, asteroids can no longer be considered mere points of light in the sky. Spacecraft missions, advanced Earth-based observation techniques, and state-of-the-art numerical models are continually revealing the detailed shapes, structures, geological properties, and orbital characteristics of these smaller denizens of our solar system. This volume brings together the latest information obtained by spacecraft combined with astronomical observations and theoretical modeling, to present our best current understanding of asteroids and the clues they reveal for the origin an,d evolution of the solar system. This collective knowledge, prepared by a team of more than one hundred international authorities on asteroids, includes new insights into asteroid-meteorite connections, possible relationships with comets, and the hazards posed by asteroids colliding with Earth. The book's contents include reports on surveys based on remote observation and summaries of physical properties; results of in situ exploration; studies of dynamical, collisional, cosmochemical, and weathering evolutionary processes; and discussions of asteroid families and the relationships between asteroids and other solar system bodies. Two previous Space Science Series volumes have established standards for research into asteroids. Asteroids III carries that tradition forward in a book that will stand as the definitive source on its subject for the next decade.
Download or read book Asteroid and Comet Impact Hazards written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This web site discusses/defines the Torino Scale, which is a "Richter Scale" for categorizing the Earth impact hazard associated with newly discovered asteroids and comets.
Download or read book Impact written by Gerrit L. Verschuur and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1997-12-18 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most scientists now agree that some sixty-five million years ago, an immense comet slammed into the Yucatan, detonating a blast twenty million times more powerful than the largest hydrogen bomb, punching a hole ten miles deep in the earth. Trillions of tons of rock were vaporized and launched into the atmosphere. For a thousand miles in all directions, vegetation burst into flames. There were tremendous blast waves, searing winds, showers of molten matter from the sky, earthquakes, and a terrible darkness that cut out sunlight for a year, enveloping the planet in freezing cold. Thousands of species of plants and animals were obliterated, including the dinosaurs, some of which may have become extinct in a matter of hours. In Impact, Gerrit L. Verschuur offers an eye-opening look at such catastrophic collisions with our planet. Perhaps more important, he paints an unsettling portrait of the possibility of new collisions with earth, exploring potential threats to our planet and describing what scientists are doing right now to prepare for this awful possibility. Every day something from space hits our planet, Verschuur reveals. In fact, about 10,000 tons of space debris fall to earth every year, mostly in meteoric form. The author recounts spectacular recent sightings, such as over Allende, Mexico, in 1969, when a fireball showered the region with four tons of fragments, and the twenty-six pound meteor that went through the trunk of a red Chevy Malibu in Peekskill, New York, in 1992 (the meteor was subsequently sold for $69,000 and the car itself fetched $10,000). But meteors are not the greatest threat to life on earth, the author points out. The major threats are asteroids and comets. The reader discovers that astronomers have located some 350 NEAs ("Near Earth Asteroids"), objects whose orbits cross the orbit of the earth, the largest of which are 1627 Ivar (6 kilometers wide) and 1580 Betula (8 kilometers). Indeed, we learn that in 1989, a bus-sized asteroid called Asclepius missed our planet by 650,000 kilometers (a mere six hours), and that in 1994 a sixty-foot object passed within 180,000 kilometers, half the distance to the moon. Comets, of course, are even more deadly. Verschuur provides a gripping description of the small comet that exploded in the atmosphere above the Tunguska River valley in Siberia, in 1908, in a blinding flash visible for several thousand miles (every tree within sixty miles of ground zero was flattened). He discusses Comet Swift-Tuttle--"the most dangerous object in the solar system"--a comet far larger than the one that killed off the dinosaurs, due to pass through earth's orbit in the year 2126. And he recounts the collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in 1994, as some twenty cometary fragments struck the giant planet over the course of several days, casting titanic plumes out into space (when Fragment G hit, it outshone the planet on the infrared band, and left a dark area at the impact site larger than the Great Red Spot). In addition, the author describes the efforts of Spacewatch and other groups to locate NEAs, and evaluates the idea that comet and asteroid impacts have been an underrated factor in the evolution of life on earth. Astronomer Herbert Howe observed in 1897: "While there are not definite data to reason from, it is believed that an encounter with the nucleus of one of the largest comets is not to be desired." As Verschuur shows in Impact, we now have substantial data with which to support Howe's tongue-in-cheek remark. Whether discussing monumental tsunamis or the innumerable comets in the Solar System, this book will enthrall anyone curious about outer space, remarkable natural phenomenon, or the future of the planet earth.
Download or read book Cosmic Impact written by Andrew May and published by Icon Books. This book was released on 2019-02-07 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
