Asteroids: (Kosmos)

Grounded in historical studies of asteroids from the nineteenth century, Asteroids is a fully up to date view of these remarkable objects. Without resorting to any technical plots or mathematics, the author shows that asteroids are not just rocks in space, but key to understanding the life and death on Earth of both animals and humans. From space missions to the asteroids’ starring role in literature and film, Clifford J. Cunningham precisely and entertainingly looks at the place asteroids have in our solar system and how they affect our daily lives.

About the Author :
Clifford J. Cunningham is a Research Fellow at the University of Southern Queensland and Associate Editor of the Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage. He is author of many books including Introduction to Asteroids (1988), and the editor of a book on William Herschel. Asteroid 4276 (Clifford) is named in his honour.

Review :
Asteroids is an insightful read, providing an overview of the field in an engaging format that is testament to both the skill and authority of the author. Clifford Cunningham provides a concise and accessible overview of asteroids, how they were first discovered (Ceres in 1801, now reclassified as a dwarf planet), where they come from, how they might impact Earth and other celestial objects, and an outlook on future missions to study them. The book is rounded out with an interesting chapter on asteroids in popular culture (the film Armageddon is one such example) and some more forward-thinking approaches to asteroids (like their potential as mining sites). Cunningham finally provides an appendix suggesting ways that the reader, be they a science student or a science enthusiast, could engage with asteroids, from doing field trips to craters, to using telescope data or even collecting stamps! An engaging and captivating book, it will appeal to people with a variety of interests: those who love reading about the historical perspective (with its associated political and egotistical intrigue); and those who appreciate the scientific aspects of asteroid studies. Equally, it is presented in a style and format that is suitable for those with little or no knowledge of asteroids . . . upon finishing the book, I was left with a warm feeling of enlightenment and a deeper appreciation of what were once termed "the vermin of the skies". This new book by astronomer and asteroid fanatic Cunningham is an all-in-one reference work about the unique heavenly bodies. Cunningham begins Asteroids with a lengthy description of the 1801 discovery of the first asteroid to be located by astronomers, Ceres, which is now considered a dwarf planet. He describes how other larger asteroids were soon found and how researchers gradually began to understand that the newly discovered objects were different from planets. An extensive overview of the various types of asteroids leads into a chapter on asteroid impacts. Particularly interesting are the last two chapters, which describe asteroids in popular culture and recent unmanned missions that have returned asteroid samples to Earth. This quintessential guide to asteroids, filled with informative photographs and other illustrations, is a must-read for those interested in the evolution of our solar system and the astrogeology of our planet. Asteroids is a readable and attractively bound monograph on quality paper with excellent illustrations. It features an index, spare notes, and a selective bibliography. It also contains an appendix titled "Engaging with Asteroids" in which Cunningham outlines backyard astronomy projects for observing and studying asteroids in more depth. Asteroids by Clifford J. Cunningham is the most engaging book that I have ever read on asteroids. The book covers every major topic and should be on the shelf of every person interested in asteroids. We have conscripted asteroids into video games and transformed them into exotic landscapes through space exploration. At first we didn’t know what to call them, and then we named them after ancient gods, close relatives, and the Beatles. Here Clifford J. Cunningham, the expert on asteroid history, conducts us from a time only a little more than two centuries ago, when no one knew asteroids exist, to now, when many know the dinosaurs were done in by one asteroid and wonder whether another might have our name on it. Dr Cunningham has mined the asteroid belt to tell us the whole story of these small but compelling worlds – where they are, what they are, and what they mean for us.