Asteroids
Relics of Ancient Time

An engaging read for anyone curious about asteroids and what they may mean for our future - both as threats and opportunities.

Michael K. Shepard (Author)

9781107061446, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 April 2015

368 pages, 92 b/w illus. 8 tables
23.5 x 16 x 2.1 cm, 0.72 kg

'Asteroids: relics of Ancient Time provides a comprehensive and remarkably readable overview of asteroid and meteorite studies. An engaging combination of personal anecdote, historical discussion and scientific explanation, it is both authoritative and accessible, and brings its subject to life uncommonly well. … Foremost amongst the book's many strengths is its focus on human experience. With evocative descriptions of people combing exotic landscapes for meteorites and first-person reflections on his daily work, Shepard grabs readers' attention on a human level and doesn't let go. While the material is detailed and quite technical, the science is clearly explained and, time and again, reconnected to the big picture questions that motivate it, and are relevant to us all.' Olivia Johnson, BBC Sky at Night

Where do asteroids come from and what are they made of? What clues do they hold about the evolution of the Solar System? Scientists have catalogued hundreds of thousands of asteroids, and many are thought to contain water and amino acids, the building blocks of life. Michael K. Shepard tells the fascinating story of their discovery, and what they can tell us about the history of our own planet. He describes how we find and study asteroids, what they look like through the eyes of powerful telescopes and spacecraft, and plans for future sample return missions. This timely book interweaves accessible scientific explanations with historical background and personal narrative, providing an engaging read for anyone curious about asteroids and what they may mean for our future - both as threats and opportunities.

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. It's a small world
2. A night at the zoo
3. It came from outer space
4. A day at the museum
5. The gambler's fallacy
6. Remembrance of things past
7. The ties that bind
8. Terra incognita
9. To your scattered bodies go
10. Scouts, sappers, and miners
Glossary
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Physics [PH], Astronomy, space & time [PG], Mathematics & science [P]