Target Earth

by Govert Schilling

ISBN: 9780262551342

Published: 2025-04-15

An acclaimed science writer tells the story of cosmic projectiles that may be on a collision course with our Earth. The impact of an asteroid led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Could another giant cosmic missile soon be heading our way? In Target Earth, acclaimed Dutch astronomy writer Govert Schilling provides a full account of what we know, and need to know, about all the extraterrestrial matter constantly bombarding our planet—from microscopic dust particles and space debris to massive meteorites, comets, and asteroids. Drawing on the latest scientific discoveries, Schilling explores virtually every aspect of cosmic impacts—from small meteorites to devastating collisions, from the craters that mark our planet’s surface to the impacts that left their mark on other celestial bodies, and from searches for near-miss lumps of rock to ways of protecting humanity from an assault from the cosmos. Along the way, he considers near misses in the past and the possibility of others in...