Near-Earth Objects: Finding them before they find us by Donald Yeomans is a fascinating tour guide of the asteroids orbiting near Earth
IN Arthur C. Clarke’s 1972 novel, Rendezvous with Rama, a telescope network for detecting Earth-threatening asteroids inadvertently nets an incoming extraterrestrial vehicle. The network, created after a space rock destroys the Italian cities of Padua and Verona and sinks Venice on 9/11 2077, is called Spaceguard. In 1998, in a classic case of science imitating science fiction, NASA set up a programme to reach its Spaceguard goal of tracking 90 per cent of dangerous asteroids.
The programme’s manager,…
