Publisher Description
As end-of-the-world scenarios go, an apocalyptic collision with an asteroid or comet is the new kid on the block, gaining respectability only in the last decade of the 20th century with the realization that the dinosaurs were wiped out by just such an impact. Now the science community is making up for lost time, with worldwide efforts to track the thousands of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects and plans for high-tech hardware that could deflect an incoming object from a collision course—a procedure depicted, with little regard for scientific accuracy, in several Hollywood movies. Astrophysicist and science writer Andrew May disentangles fact from fiction in this fast-moving and entertaining account, covering the nature and history of comets and asteroids, the reason why some orbits are more hazardous than others, the devastating local and global effects that an impact event would produce, and—more optimistically—the way future space missions could avert a catastrophe.
Download and start listening now!
About Andrew May
Andrew May is an author who has been working as a freelance writer and defense consultant. He obtained a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Manchester and is an experienced professional with a career spanning academia, government, and private industry. He has written both authoritatively and entertainingly on the physical sciences, military technology, British history, science fiction, New Age beliefs, and the paranormal. He is the author of several titles, including Pseudoscience and Science Fiction, The Telescopic Tourist’s Guide to the Moon, and Rockets and Ray Guns: The Sci-Fi Science of the Cold War, among others.
About Shaun Grindell
Shaun Grindell, actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator, was born and raised in Southampton, England. His training includes the Calland School of Speech and Drama and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in London. He has been seen on stage in London and Las Vegas.