Meteor Showers and their Parent Comets

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 50 years, making it a valuable resource for both amateur and professional astronomers.

Customer Reviews:

A Must for Meteor Enthusiasts!.......2006-12-03

WOW! what a book this is for aspiring and experienced observers! I'm in awe. Dr. Jenniskens' new book is so chock-full of information it will take years to soak it all in. He has done a masterful job of explaining everything that goes into the generation of comet dust trails and the resultant meteor showers they spawn. That -- plus a comprehensive listing of EVERY expected meteor outburst (and their expected ZHRs!) for the next fifty years! Not just the main showers like the Leonids and Perseids, but all minor showers as well.
I'm absolutely astounded by the enormous amount of work that must have gone into creating this book! It is simply an amazing work that should be in every library and on every meteor enthusiast's shelf -- because you'll be going back to it again and again for the rest of your life!

(Note: This is probably not the right meteor book for youngsters just getting to know this wonderful science and hobby, however. The charts, graphs, and mathematics are a little overwhelming for beginners.)

Pete Bias (author of Meteors and Meteor Showers, an Amateur's Guide to Meteors)

Mitigation of Hazardous Comets and Asteroids

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Mitigation of Hazardous Comets and Asteroids

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521827647

Book Description

This book presents the most recent research on the development of a reliable defense against objects that can potentially collide with the Earth. Large asteroids and comets can collide with the Earth causing severe consequences, and collisions are a random process that can occur at any time. To reduce the threat, it is necessary to understand these potentially hazardous objects.

Meteorites, Comets, and Planets, Volume 1: Treatise on Geochemistry, Volume 1 (Treatise on Geochemistry)

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Meteorites, Comets, and Planets, Volume 1: Treatise on Geochemistry, Volume 1 (Treatise on Geochemistry)

Manufacturer: Elsevier Science
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Meteorites And the Early Solar System II (The University of Arizona Space Science Series)
The Crust, Volume 3: Treatise on Geochemistry
The Mantle and Core: Treatise on Geochemistry
Meteorites: A Petrologic and Isotopic Synthesis (Cambridge Planetary Science)
Sediments, Diagenesis, and Sedimentary Rocks: Treatise on Geochemistry

ASIN: 0080447201

Book Description

Volume 1 provides a broad overview of the chemistry of the solar system. It includes chapters on the origin of the elements and solar system abundances, the solar nebula and planet formation, meteorite classification, the major types of meteorites, important processes in early solar system history, geochemistry of the terrestrial planets, the giant planets and their satellite, comets, and the formation and early differentiation of the Earth. This volume is intended to be the first reference work one would consult to learn about the chemistry of the solar system.

Reprinted individual volume from the acclaimed Treatise on Geochemistry (10 Volume Set, ISBN 0-08-043751-6, published in 2003)

Rogue Asteroids and Doomsday Comets: The Search for the Million Megaton Menace That Threatens Life on Earth
Average customer rating:

Ignore speculation and you have a good book..

Craters

Please create an audio abridged version ...

Death from Space! - sometime.

Rogue Asteroids and Doomsday Comets: The Search for the Million Megaton Menace That Threatens Life on Earth
Duncan Steel , and Arthur C. Clarke
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Rain of Iron & Ice (Helix Books)

Impact!: The Threat of Comets and Asteroids

Comet And Asteroid Impact Hazard: Computer Modeling

Meteorites: Their Impact on Science and History

The Mystery of the Tunguska Fireball

ASIN: 0471308242

Book Description

Could a giant asteroid or comet crash into the Earth and destroy life as we know it? Many astronomers who formerly discredited the risks are now convinced there is a grave danger. In Rogue Asteroids and Doomsday Comets, astronomer Duncan Steel explores the scientists' fascinating and often chilling findings.

Director of one of three global asteroid and comet search programs, Steel is one of the world's leading experts. He tells the intriguing story of the scientific detection work that pieced together mounting evidence to uncover a stunning history of impacts. Massive comet and asteroid impacts scarred our planet frequently in the past—a comet was almost surely responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs. Recent advances in telescope tracking technology show at least 2,000 objects now orbiting the Earth that are large enough to hit with the force of a nuclear weapon. Based on the best calculations, it is certain that the Earth will sooner or later find itself on a disastrous collision course once again.

In the event of a collision, evidence suggests outcomes such as three-mile-high ocean waves capable of obliterating coastal communities worldwide, a massive conflagration and a cloud of dust and ash blocking all sunlight and making agriculture impossible. With consummate authority, Steel explains and evaluates these prospects and the plans researchers have proposed for the search and destruction of oncoming celestial bodies, including Edward Teller's provocative call for a nuclear bomb.

Rogue Asteroids and Doomsday Comets is a compelling account of the threat posed to life on Earth from outer space, and of scientists' response. Killer comets and asteroids populate the cosmos in greater numbers than we have ever imagined. But for the first time, humankind is in a position to prevent calamity. This book makes a compelling case that to waste that opportunity would be both perilous and foolhardy.

"A chilling and utterly convincing account of a cosmic menace that must not be ignored any longer. Duncan Steel writes with authority and credibility. This book is a welcome challenge to the scientific prejudice against catastrophism." —Paul Davies, author of The Mind of God

Evidence of Earth's encounters with killer comets and asteroids . . .

An enormous crater 180 kilometers across was recently identified in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The asteroid that created it 65 million years ago must have been larger than 20 kilometers. Was this gargantuan collision the cause of a global environmental disaster that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs? Fossil evidence shows that 900f the terrestrial biomass was incinerated about the time of the asteroid's impact. Did an asteroid crash spark a fireball that literally saw the Earth go up in flames?

In 1908, a much smaller asteroid exploded in the atmosphere over the remote Tunguska region of Siberia. The blast, estimated at 20 megatons—2,000 times the power of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leveled vast expanses of forest and ignited fires that burned out of control. The explosion's mighty thunderclap was audible over 400 miles away, and throughout Europe the night sky glowed unnaturally bright
Could both Stonehenge and the pyramids of Egypt have been constructed to observe and commemorate a period of phenomenal meteor storms and asteroid detonations produced by a burst of activity in the Taurid Complex 4,500 to 5,000 years ago? Author Duncan Steel examines the evidence indicating rogue asteroids and doomsday comets may have been behind these and other ancient phenomena.

Customer Reviews:

Ignore speculation and you have a good book.........2002-03-12

I liked the book, but do not rate it as highly as "Rain of Iron and Ice" by John S. Lewis and "Impact" by Gerrit L Verschuur. However, it is much better than "Fire on Earth" by John and Mary Gribben.
My chief reservation about Steel's work is that he seems easily drawn to flights of whimsy such as Clube's and Napier's contentions regarding Beta Taurid cometary impacts that have affected history on a mammoth scale. While these are captivating proposals, perhaps, there isn't enough hard scientific evidence for them clutter up what was otherwise a hitherto fine scientific presentation of a real problem by Steel. Up to the author's dalliance into the speculative, the book is a good read about a serious, overlooked, preventable threat. His admonitions should be taken seriously.

Craters.......2000-12-18

Duncan Steel is one of the best known advocates for a near Earth observation system, and he and others like him should be listened to. Unfortunately the book is not too great. It didn't hold my attention, partly because of the intrusion of some of his opinions. If nothing else is available on the topic, this could be an okay choice. See instead "Rain of Iron and Ice" by John S. Lewis

Related titles include "Night Comes to the Cretaceous" by James Lawrence Powell and "T Rex and the Crater of Doom" by Walter Alvarez.

Please create an audio abridged version ..........1999-06-17

To the publisher I would appreciate it if the publisher could produce an audio adaptation of this book. I would love to listen to this while I drive to work and to let my 16 month old son listen to it as a bedtime story. My goal is to expose him to some of my favorite passions, maths, sciences, physics, geophysics, paleontology, astronomy, electronics, photonics, new science and discoveries etc. The more audio books you can produce of the above genre the more I will support you. Arnold D Veness

Death from Space! - sometime........1998-10-15

Three events in the past decade have caused a great deal of interest in objects around us in space. Giotto's encounter with Halleys Comet, Hubble Space Telescope pictures of the Shoemaker/Levy comet crashing onto Jupiter and lastly the naked eye sightings of the Hale/Bopp Comet we have enjoyed earlier in the year. Originally from Somerset, Duncan Steel now works at the Anglo-Australian Observatory and his book provides a very readable account of the nature and movements of these very varied objects.

Ever since the first pictures of other planets and in particular their moons arrived, studies have been made of their cratering records. Pictures from space have also been the main method of detecting craters but this time down on earth where plate tectonics, erosion, sediments or vegetation tend to erase them.

Astronomy and Geology linked up when cosmic impact events were suggested as possible cause or trigger for some of the major extinctions we find in the fossil record. The effects of both solar and cosmic cycles on all aspects of life on the planet are now widely studied.

Mr. Steel gives an account of a very bright meteor seen by many people in 1993 in New South Wales. When asked for an estimate of how soon it would before another such sighting to occur the answer was given in years. One week later, however, an object estimated to be 2-3 meters in size and traveling at 30Km/Sec exploded 18Km overhead with the amount of energy produced by a Hiroshima Bomb. Events such as these and the trail of impacts left on Jupiter show that objects in space are certainly not solitary. Lines of craters have been found on other moons in the system. Comet Hale/Bopp provided a spectacular sight a few months ago but for now the interest is in the debris and dust they and asteroids can leave behind often in highly eccentric trails across our orbit. Gravitational forces and solar wind affect the objects and the trails have a structure and it is the "busy" parts of the belt which give the peaks to meteor showers as we pass. The widely varying time scales which have been linked with extinctions and other cycles are the result of earth and solar system moving round the galaxy.

The possible effects of a large impact, global warming, ice ages, large fire storms or basalt floods have all been discussed elsewhere but the book considers several other theories. A large object landing in the ocean could cause a truly instant catastrophe.

This is the tsunami wave which can be caused by earthquakes or large undersea slope collapse. Islands in the middle of the Pacific can feel the effects of activity right across the ocean. The sloping continental shelves amplify the height of the waves and in low lying areas they can reach well in land. Observations of the cratering pattern on Mercury led to one theory where the shock waves from a large impact travel round the globe and fracture the crust on the opposite side. Reconstruction of the continents at the times of suggested impact events seems to make it possible to link basalt floods such as the Deccan traps with their "opposite" partner.

The remainder of the book deals with the problems involved first in detecting objects which may be a threat to the earth and also discusses what or how anything could be done about it. The pictures of S/L 9 described as a "string of pearls" as it approached Jupiter show just how much of a problem this could prove. For a book found

Book Description

This book, the first in a series of forthcoming volumes, consists of topical and timely reviews of a number of carefully selected topics in solar systemn science. Contributions, in form of up-to-date reviews, are mainly aimed at professional astronomers and planetary scientists wishing to inform themselves about progress in fields closely related to their own field of expertise.

Comets: A Chronological History of Observation, Science, Myth, and Folklore

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Comets

Comets: A Chronological History of Observation, Science, Myth, and Folklore
Donald K. Yeomans
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

The diminutive size of cometary bodies is in no way proportional to their scientific importance. Theorists suggest that comets played a major role in the development of the Earth and subsequent collosions of comets may have wiped out various life forms, allowing only the most adaptable to develop further. In short, the study of comets is important from a historical perspective, scientifically compelling and, at the same time, entertaining. In this authoritative book, the development of cometary ideas is traced from antiquity through the actual fly-by of Halley by international spacecraft in 1986. The focus is on the cometary theories that were evident in each era. Included are many colorful anecdotes and information about culture and important personalities throughout history. Also contains an exhaustive catalog of all comet apparitions through the year 1700.

Customer Reviews:

Comets.......2006-01-03

Comets where first discovered way back in the time of such scientific scholars like Aristotle and Ptolemy. The book Comets was written by Donald K. Yeomans. In the book he tells you the history on comets and how they have been and are being discovered in space. He also describes the different views of the scientists of the time on comets. An example of a wacky thought of comets was by Aristotle as he thought that comets had something to do with meteorology.
The author also describes how comets impacted societies and time periods. Suck as how Newton viewed the comets of 1607,1618,1652,1664 and 1665. He tied this info into his theory of a heliocentric universe. This book tells you facts on comets also like how Halley's Comet returns roughly about every 70 years. I didn't really enjoy this book because of the fact I am not a big reader and it is basically a book of facts. The book on comets is really a giant fact book compiled for studies. I would recommend this book if you where going to do any type of project or paper on comets but I would not recommend it for the casual reader.

Rocks from Space: Meteorites and Meteorite Hunters

Average customer rating:

Excellent Book.
Rocks from Space, an overview.
VERY ENTERTAINING BOOK ON METEORITES!!
Rocks from Space
A joy for every meteorite collector

Rocks from Space: Meteorites and Meteorite Hunters
O. Richard Norton
Manufacturer: Mountain Press Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Meteorites
Falling Stars: A Guide to Meteors and Meteorites (Astronomy)
Meteorites: Their Impact on Science and History
You Can Find Gold: With a Metal Detector (Prospecting and Treasure Hunting)
Where to Find Gold in the Desert

ASIN: 0878424385
Release Date: 2001-06-01

Product Description

This popular guide to cosmic debris introduces the fascinating world of meteorites, asteroids, comets, and impact craters. With more than 50 new photographs and updated illustrations, new and expanded appendixes, and some fun cosmic humor, Rocks from Space, Second Edition, journeys into the last frontier for close-up looks at the latest astronomical discoveries.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Book........2007-04-23

I purchased the book "Rocks From Space (Second Edition)" about seven years ago. My main interest in space is in the field of planetary geology and I have a need to be reasonably conversant with the subscience of meteoritics. The "Rocks From Space" book was recommended by several colleagues, and I also noted that it had received good reviews.

In general, I find "popular" books directed to the interests of amateurs to be shallow and even corny. "Rocks From Space" is an exception. This book is outstanding. It provides a concise but excellent introduction to the subjects of meteorites, asteroids, comets, meteors and impact sites. It is presented in a way that amateur collectors, amateur astronomers or anyone interested in these space-related subjects can easily read and understand, but, at the same time, it is very informative and authoritative. I would not hesitate to recommend the book to anyone who was interested in meteorites and other space debris. In fact, I have recommended it to countless individuals as an excellent place to start.

"Rocks From Space" is well written, well illustrated and interesting to read. It has achieved a permanent and respected place in my reference book collection. I give talks on planetary geology to groups of geologists and astronomers and I use some of the illustrations in my presentations. For people who are interested is collecting meteorites, Norton presents a series of guidelines, anecdotes and useful information including a list of laboratories where one might get an identification confirmed. For a small and inexpensive paperback, this book contains a wealth of information.

Rocks from Space, an overview........2007-02-09

Excellent book, especially for the beginning/intermediate meteorite collecter. Written in easy-to-understand English, yet technical when it needs to be. Very comprehensive on the subject, and well illustrated with photographs and drawings.

VERY ENTERTAINING BOOK ON METEORITES!!.......2007-01-11

Norton is a rare author who combines detailed knowledge of a subject with very entertaining stories. Once I started reading some of the chapters I just could not put it down. On the other hand, it also includes chapters which are technical (and sometimes beyond my understanding in some cases)! It therefore has something for everyone from beginner to advanced, collector or even a noncollector simply interested in the subject. This is a great introduction and very well written. It was not the first book on metorites I read, but should have been!

Rocks from Space.......2006-08-24

very informative and well written. a good book to have on the subject.

A joy for every meteorite collector.......2005-09-20

Though I got Norton's Encyclopedia of Meteorites first, I'm glad I still bought this one as it is more beginner friendly, and delights every reader of the meteorite legends and bed time stories.I use to have this principle not to buy the second book of the same author, as the content is almost the same. The encyclopedia is still an excellent reference for the more technically inclined individuals, I should say for geologist its easy for them to see eye to eye, but "Rocks from Space" has always been recommended by almost every meteorite dealer and collectors, and they can't be wrong. Its a must for every collector in their library. Mr. Norton has always been close to many a meteorite collector, and the reader can share his views without boundaries.

Average customer rating:

Outstanding resource
One of the best books on the subject
Fascinating - I was amazed at the power of geochemistry
A great book which I highly recommend!!!
Great book for beginners and experienced collectors

Meteorites And Their Parent Planets
Harry Y. Jr. McSween
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521587514

Book Description

Meteorites and Their Parent Planets provides an engrossing overview of a highly interdisciplinary field--the study of extraterrestrial materials. The second edition of this successful book has been thoroughly revised, and describes the nature of meteorites, where they come from, and how they get to Earth. Meteorites offer important insights into processes in stars and in interstellar regions, the birth of our solar system, the formation and evolution of planets and smaller bodies, and the origin of life. The first edition was immensely popular with meteorite collectors, scientists and science students in many fields, as well as amateur astronomers. In this second edition all of the illustrations have been updated and improved, many sections have been expanded and modified based on discoveries in the past decade, and a new final chapter on the importance of meteorites has been added. Everyone with an interest in meteorites will want a copy of this book.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding resource.......2007-03-09

I both collect meteorites and give talks about them throughout the U.S. I am always looking for good books on meteorites that I can recommend to those who attend my presentations. Norton's books, as well as McSween's, are the best. It's chock full of very interesting information that has been abstracted from research journals and put into language that non-specialists can understand. It's by no means a beginners book, but one that you'd want to read after the more superficial ones.

The main theme is, of course, identifying the parent planets and asteroids for the classifications of meteorite. McSween provides his readers with the most up-to-date information, by 1999 standards, and when there is no agreement, he offers us his best opinion.

The book is organized by first providing a good overview of meteoronics in general. Then he addresses chondrites in Chapter 2, followed by a chapter related to possible parent bodies for the chondrites discussed. Ch 4 and 5 do the same for achondrites, and Chs 6 and 7 for Irons and Stony-Irons. The final two chapters get into subjects such as the geography of teh asteroidal belt and Kirkwood gaps, resonance, fractionations, and so forth -- this is the discussion that will interest those who have been involved with meteors for awhile.

I highly recommend the book and hope that he updates it in the near future. It has a 1999 date -- 8 years ago from this review. I'd love to read a third edition.

One of the best books on the subject.......1999-12-03

Really a MUST-have for the serious meteorite collector. Lots of scientifical informations, but very readable.

Fascinating - I was amazed at the power of geochemistry.......1999-09-24

I'm a geologist who loves to find good summaries of geology / planetary science topics, and "Meteorites and their Parent Planets" is one of the best I've found. While I've always been more interested in "geometric" topics like structural geology, McSween's book made geochemistry and cosmochemistry come alive like I'd never imagined. He weaves a fascinating tale of the amazing deductions that have been made from analyses of meteorites. "Compositional" sciences like petrology and geochemistry used to make my eyes glaze over, but now I think that if I had it to do over again, I might go into geochemistry or meteoritics! I look forward to reading McSween's other books.

A great book which I highly recommend!!!.......1999-03-20

Informative reading and great photos. This book makes a great addition to your meteorite book library.

Great book for beginners and experienced collectors.......1999-02-16

I think that this book is very well written and easy for the beginner to understand. Lots of great information.

Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets (Helix Books)

Average customer rating:

Non Fiction
Now I see how it can be done
Amazing and important book, even 10 years later
This needs to be required reading in schools
Makes One Think

Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets (Helix Books)
John S. Lewis
Manufacturer: Perseus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Islands in the Sky: Bold New Ideas for Colonizing Space
Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization
The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space: Apogee Books Space Series 12 (Apogee Books Space Series)
The Case for Mars
The Starflight Handbook: A Pioneer's Guide to Interstellar Travel (Wiley Science Editions)

ASIN: 0201479591

Customer Reviews:

Non Fiction.......2007-09-03

Mining the Sky : Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets
by John S. Lewis takes a balance looked at the possibilities and/or necessities of space exploration and exploitation for economic reasons.

There are a lot of resources out there, and finite resources here, and he looks at both private and public involvement in the activity.

Now I see how it can be done.......2007-07-28

A short way into this book, I went to the back of the book to see if the author is a journalist or a real scientist. That's because it was so well written. He's a scientist alright. And, it wasn't long before I encountered the dense exposition I expected.

So, there's a dusting of light reading, especially the scifi scenes that serve as introductions to each chapter. The craftsmanship of those would make a professional scifi writer envious.

Then there's the info-packed core of each chapter. My chemistry and astrophysics is practically non-existant and I couldn't keep up, but I got the gist of it. I still appreciated the effort to explain things. Other authors would skip the explanation and merely state the conclusion. That would leave me wondering how trustworthy that statement was.

In the end, I felt I had a good overview of how the future might take shape.

I should warn you of that, at the start of the book, the author presents a version of 15th century Chinese explorations (he doesn't mention the name 'Zheng He') that is a little shakey historically. But blaming "the court eunuchs" makes too good a metaphor to let that get in the way. However, for a couple chapters at the end of the book he turns preachy -- essentially labelling dissenters from expansion into space as "court eunuchs", then disassociating himself from the political left and right by sloppily redefining their positions. I guess he couldn't trust us to make our own way thru political thickets. Fortunately, the just-the-facts bulk of the book make up for these few tantrums.

Amazing and important book, even 10 years later.......2007-01-10

This is a wonderful book. The author lays out, very plainly, how the vast resources of the solar system will enable a prosperous future for 10 quadrillion people within half a millenium, and at the same time save the Earth from the economic and ecological dangers it now faces.

Parts of the book are a bit dated now, including the "new afterword by the author" which was written in 1997 (only a year after the book was first published). I'd love to see a new edition that takes into account the developments (or lack thereof) of the last ten years. But the vast majority of the book still applies just fine. I highly recommend this book to anyone with any concern about humanity's future.

This needs to be required reading in schools.......2007-01-02

Mining the sky is an encouraging answer to those who worry about overpopulation, global warming, and environmental degradation. It challenges us to expand our limited perspective and seek solutions to the worlds problems in unconventional places. Lewis very logically and reasonably explores the potential wealth of our solar system, and lays out a very feasable framework to follow in order to utilize the seeminly unlimmited resources in our backyard.

Makes One Think.......2006-01-01

Mining the Sky is an excellent book for any person who has had any association with earthly mineral extraction and the potential for utilization of space-based resources on the Moon, Mars, and Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs). While the book is nearly a decade old, the primary message remains poignant and relevant even more so in the 21st Century. It is my hope that the author will do a second edition in the near future. With recent robotic missions to the Moon, Mars, asteroids and comets having taken place since the book was first published, I am certain that there is even much more to now be said about the economics of space-based mineral commerce.

Comet And Asteroid Impact Hazard: Computer Modeling

Average customer rating:

Excellent Book but the Software presents a Hassle
Wow!
Devastating impact!
Simulate asteroid and comet impacts on your PC

Comet And Asteroid Impact Hazard: Computer Modeling
John S. Lewis
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Rogue Asteroids and Doomsday Comets: The Search for the Million Megaton Menace That Threatens Life on Earth
Rain of Iron & Ice (Helix Books)
Impact!: The Threat of Comets and Asteroids

ASIN: 0124467601

Book Description

Comet and Asteroid Impact Hazards explores the anticipated consequences of comet and asteroid impact. It presents the first computer simulations of the hazards of comet and asteroid bombardment of a populated Earth. Previous estimates of fatality and damage rates on the 100 to 10,000 year time scale are shown to be too low because they neglect rare, highly lethal outriders of the populations of bombarding objects, those with exceptional strength, unusually low entry velocity, and near-horizontal entry angles. This is the first realistic assessment of both the mean casualty rate and the expected statistical fluctuations in that rate. A breakdown of fatality and damage rates by impactor energy and compositional class suggests lessons for both asteroid search strategies and interdiction techniques.
This book is written so that anyone with college level experience in the physical sciences can understand it. It includes a disk that allows the reader to simulate impact catastrophes. It serves as a useful resource in various physical sciences courses such as astronomy, planetary science, and environmental science.

* Quantatively rigorous treatment of the state of impact hazard prediction, including stuctural blast damage, firestorm ignition, tsunami generation
* Realistic treatment of the impact on population, composition, and orbits
* Attention to economic and public policy issues of warning, interdiction, and asteroid and comet search strategies
* Comparison of simulation results to historical records
* Detailed and realistic Monte Carlo simulation software included

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Book but the Software presents a Hassle.......2000-11-21

The text is an excellent and scholarly treatment of the subject. Itis very detailed, quite factual, thoughtfully constructed and verythought provocating. It generates a lot of interest in the includedMonte Carlo impact/fatality model.

Unfortunately, the attached model program is very difficult to use. It is written in native GW-BASIC which can only be read by GW-Basic running under DOS (not a Windows shell). One needs to find a copy of GWBASIC and a DOS boot disk to convert HAZARD5.BAS to ASCII format. Once in ASCII it will run in the more common QBASIC in Windows. In short, it presents an unnecessary hassle. Indeed, there were no instructions to do the conversion and Michael Paine and his web site .... came to the rescue with detailed instructions and some refinements to the model.

Wow!.......2000-09-14

Dr. Lewis makes a compelling case for the reappraisal of comet and asteroid impacts. This book is lucid, sharp, and, well, SCARY. I strongly recommend it to all readers curious about these potentially cataclysmic events; when you understand the energy involved in one of these impacts, and the effects on human populations it becomes clear that we are currently just as vulnerable as the dinosaurs were 65 million years ago. I also recommend Rain of Iron and Ice for the popular science audience. It is an equally compelling, and also entertaining, read. Worth every penny.

Devastating impact!.......2000-01-05

Of all the hazards facing Earth, impacts are the most dangerous. Their effects can be devastating over the entire surface of the planet.

I enjoyed the comparison of simulation results to historical records and the attention to economic and public policy issues of warning, interdiction, and asteroid & comet search strategies. David Egge's paintings (in the color section) are awesome.

Keep your eye on the sky!

Simulate asteroid and comet impacts on your PC.......1999-12-07

This book by Planetary Scientist John Lewis includes a diskette with a Monte Carlo program to run simulations of Earth impacts over time. The book is basically a handbook for the software with a wide range of physical information about NEOs, impacts and effects on the human population. An excellent resource covering physics, chemistry and environment. I can recommend it to anyone studying the possible influence of impacts on civilisation. Over thousands of years airburst events like Tunguska turn out to be important sources of fatalities and yet they leave little or no physical evidence so information about the danger is unlikely to be reliably passed from generation to generation.

Note that the program requires GW-BASIC to run To run the program in a higher version of BASIC such as Quick Basic you will need to convert it from binary to ASCII format from within GW-BASIC. To do this load the program in GW-BASIC (F3 path/filename.BAS) then save it with the ASCII option set (F4 path/new_filename.BAS , A ). This is all subject to the copyright conditions of course.

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