Near-Earth Objects

Finding Them Before They Find Us

By: Donald K. Yeomans

Narrated by: Brian Troxell

Of all the natural disasters that could befall us, only an Earth impact by a large comet or asteroid has the potential to end civilization in a single blow. Yet these near-Earth objects also offer tantalizing clues to our solar system's origins, and someday could even serve as stepping-stones for space exploration. In this book, Donald Yeomans introduces listeners to the science of near-Earth objects - its history, applications, and ongoing quest to find near-Earth objects before they find us.

In its course around the Sun, the Earth passes through a veritable shooting gallery of millions of nearby comets and asteroids. One such asteroid is thought to have plunged into our planet 65 million years ago, triggering a global catastrophe that killed off the dinosaurs. Yeomans provides an up-to-date and accessible guide for understanding the threats posed by near-Earth objects, and also explains how early collisions with them delivered the ingredients that made life on Earth possible. He shows how later impacts spurred evolution, allowing only the most adaptable species to thrive - in fact, we humans may owe our very existence to objects that struck our planet.

Yeomans takes listeners behind the scenes of today's efforts to find, track, and study near-Earth objects. He shows how the same comets and asteroids most likely to collide with us could also be mined for precious natural resources like water and oxygen, and used as watering holes and fueling stations for expeditions to Mars and the outermost reaches of our solar system.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2013 Princeton University Press (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Excellent introduction to asteroids/neos

What made the experience of listening to Near-Earth Objects the most enjoyable?

This book provides a clear description of asteroids, near Earth objects, and the technology used to study them. It also documents what can be done in the event of a near Earth object that is on an impact trajectory to the Earth.

Suffers from a lack of graphics

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This is an interesting book that gives a good summary of the current state of affairs in terms of asteroid tracking & mitigation technology. If you're interested in astronomy you'll probably enjoy this. The reason that I only gave the audiobook 3 stars is because the author refers, on numerous occasions, to graphs & charts that are supposed to be included in a PDF with the audiobook. The lack of these visual references is frustrating, and though I e-mailed Audible customer support about this issue several weeks ago, the PDF is still not available through their website.