Near-Earth Objects: Finding Them Before They Find Us

Illustrations vii Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii Chapter 1 Earth's Closest Neighbors 1 Chapter 2 The Solar System's Origin: The Classical View 15 Chapter 3 How and Where Do Near-Earth Objects Form? 29 Chapter 4 Near-Earth Objects as the Enablers and Destroyers of Life 47 Chapter 5 Discovering and Tracking Near-Earth Objects 57 Chapter 6 The Nature of Asteroids and Comets 79 Chapter 7 Nature's Natural Resources and the Human Exploration of Our Solar System 100 Chapter 8 Near-Earth Objects as Threats to Earth 109 Chapter 9 Predicting the Likelihood of an Earth Impact 125 Chapter 10 Deflecting an Earth-Threatening Near-Earth Object 140 References 155 Index of Asteroid and Cometary Objects 159 General Index 161