Rain Of Iron And Ice The Very Real Threat Of Comet And Asteroid Bombardment

by Lewis, John S.

• ISBN13: 9780201154948
• ISBN10: 0201154943
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-04-25
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

Rain of Iron and Iceshows us the unmistakable evidencefrom spaceprobe flybys of the planets to the scars on our own Earthof cataclysmic comet and asteroid impacts. By comparing what we know about the earth's geology and paleontology with the ages of the other planets and moons in our solar system, Lewis makes the strongest case yet for sudden, dramatic extinctions and assesses the risks to planet Earth.

Author Biography

John S. Lewis, author of Rain of Iron and Ice, is professor of planetary sciences and codirector of the Space Engineering Research Center at the University of Arizona-Tucson. He has chaired international conferences on space resources and is a globally recognized expert on the subject.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Stones That Fall from the Sky	p. 10
Target: Earth	p. 30
Stealth Weapons from Space	p. 37
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns	p. 55
The Space Age: the Cratered Planets	p. 64
Near-Earth Objects	p. 75
The Bashful Face of Mars	p. 91
Ends of Geological Ages	p. 100
Earth's Twin	p. 116
You Found What on Mercury??	p. 131
Comet and Asteroid Families	p. 138
Craters in the Ocean Don't Last	p. 150
Effects on Human Populations	p. 162
The Fiery Rain: Simulations by Computer	p. 183
What Can We Do about It?	p. 206
Afterword to the Paperback Edition	p. 223
Suggested Reading	p. 227
Index	p. 229
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.