Title:
How to kill an asteroid : the real science of planetary defense
Author:
Edition:
First edition.
Publication Date:
2024
Publication Information:
New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, [2024]
©2024
Physical Description:
xviii, 306 pages, 13 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
ISBN:
9781324050193
Abstract:
There are approximately 25,000 "city killer" asteroids in near-Earth orbit--and most are yet to be found. Small enough to evade detection, they are capable of large-scale destruction, and represent our greatest cosmic threat. But in September 2022, against all odds, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission deliberately crashed a spacecraft into a carefully selected city killer, altering the asteroid's orbit and proving that we stand a chance against them.
Contents:
Prologue: Apocalypse Please -- To Russia with Love -- This is for the Dinosaurs -- Hollywood and the Nuclear Hail Mary -- Spying on Heaven -- Never Tell Me the Odds -- This is How We Lose -- A Dress Rehearsal for Saving the World -- In the Shadow of the Sun -- The Cotton Candy Killers -- Ashes to Ashes -- Dust to Dust -- Epilogue: What Do We Say to the God of Death?
Language:
English
