The Asteroid Threat

""Burrows has provided a compelling case for proactively dealing with Earth-impacting comets and asteroids. He describes the ongoing search for potential Earth impactors and the available mitigation options. His entertaining asides and anecdotes, along with his several diversions into science fiction books and Earth-disaster movies, help make this an interesting read from cover to cover.”—Donald K. Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, author of Near-Earth Objects: Finding Them before They Find Us“If we didn't realize it already, Burrows makes clear in this excellent book that Chicken Little was right: the sky is falling. Earth is bombarded every day by thousands of small objects from space; mostly they go unnoticed, but occasionally there are larger impacts that cause considerable destruction. An impact at Chelyabinsk, Russia, in February 2013 is only the most recent one to remind us that we need to take action to protect our planet. Burrows lays out a compelling case for tracking near-Earth objects and developing strategies and technologies for mitigating this threat. He assures that planetary defense is a genuine possibility now and will become a reality in the near term.” —Roger D. Launius, PhD, associate director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution “The Asteroid Threat will have you looking up—for threats to Earth from asteroids. In this well-written, globe-spanning story, Burrows ably relates the history and science behind cosmic impacts. Best of all is his prudent, practical plan to save humanity.” —Tom Jones, shuttle astronaut, planetary scientist, and author of Sky Walking: An Astronaut's Memoir“