‘It’s only recently we have begun to understand the enormous significance of asteroids in the fortunes of Planet Earth. It’s long been recognised that some of them have the power to destroy our planet by collision. But it’s now becoming evident that previous asteroid (and cometary) impacts supplied ALL the material from which our entire Biosphere is made - and as such are responsible for our very existence. This, together with the possible benefits to humanity from mining asteroids for minerals, gives us three vital reasons for making close studies of near-Earth asteroids. The OSIRIS-REx mission undertook by far the most intimate exploration of any asteroid to date, and here are the results, the fruits of the labours of a huge team of top scientists and engineers. Our aim has been to deliver this extraordinary portrait in a form which is understandable and enjoyable to scientists and non-scientists alike.’ Sir Brian May
Bennu is the most dangerous asteroid in the Solar System and there is a real chance that it might strike the Earth in 2182. In 2020 NASA's OSIRIS-REX mission landed a spacecraft on Bennu and collected material from the surface for return to Earth. In September 2023 this material will arrive home and will be analysed in scientific labs worldwide - notably by scientists at London's Natural History Museum. The results will help to answer some of our deepest questions such as: where did we come from, and what is our destiny in space. Stereo pictures of the asteroid compiled by Sir Brian May and his colleague Claudia Manzoni played a crucial role in selecting the landing site and mapping the asteroid.
One of the most astonishing facts about asteroids is the role they play bringing metals, minerals and water to our planet. As such, they may be crucial to the emergence of life on Earth; hitherto they have been better known for their role in the extinction of the dinosaurs and the threat they pose to life should they collide with our planet.
As well as the most authoritative and detailed study ever of an asteroid, including the first ever Atlas of an asteroid, this book has been meticulously edited by Professor Dante Lauretta and Brian May to be a highly readable general introduction to asteroids, suitable for amateur astronomers and science buffs.
- Includes / Lite Owl Viewer
- Condition / New
- Hardback in black
- Dimension
317 x 240 x 17 mm
- Pages / 212
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Illustrations / 150 illustrations: 50 maps, 80 stereoscopic images, 20 monos
- Publisher / The London Stereoscopic Company
