Doomsday Asteroid: Can We Survive?

By Donald W. Cox, James H. Chestek, Donald W. Cox ED. D.

Book Overview

""One of their more frightening conclusions is that the risk of death in the next 50 years from a collision with an asteroid is greater than that from an airline crash or any other type of natural... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573920665
• ISBN13: 9781573920667
• Release Date: November 1996
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 338 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 1.3" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Cox and Chester go for impact with "Doomsday Asteroid"

"Doomsday Asteroid" presents an interesting perspective on the problems surrounding Earth's defense against cosmic impact. Part of the defense that Cox and Chester expound upon is a space-based telescope, orbiting the Sun ahead of the Earth, that can provide early warning of an impending collision. If nothing else, "Doomsday Rock" should be read because of the stirring prologue from Arthur C. Clarke's 1973 novel "Rendezvous With Rama". In addition to providing the impetus for the now-famous Rama saga, the prologue also lends it's name to the Spaceguard Survey that NASA undertook in 1992. What detracts from the book is the lack of attention to smaller rocks that threaten the Earth. Although much less likely to cause global destruction, asteroids as small as 100 meters can cause vast devastation in urbanized regions and, in the case of a sea strike, coastal areas. Despite that flaw, "Doomsday Asteroid" is a solid, informative read.