Asteroids: A History [Paperback]

Curtis Peebles (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1560989823 | ISBN-13: 978-1560989820 | Publication Date: September 1, 2001

Asteroids suggest images of a catastrophic impact with Earth, triggering infernos, tidal waves, famine, and death -- but these scenarios have obscured the larger story of how asteroids have been discovered and studied. During the past two centuries, the quest for knowledge about asteroids has involved eminent scientists and amateur astronomers, patient research and sudden intuition, advanced technology and the simplest of telescopes, newspaper headlines and Cold War secrets. Today, researchers have named and identified the mineral composition of these objects. They range in size from 33 feet to 580 miles wide and most are found in a belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Covering all aspects of asteroid investigation, Curtis Peebles shows how ideas about the orbiting boulders have evolved. He describes how such phenomena as the Moon's craters and dinosaur extinction were gradually, and by some scientists grudgingly, accepted as the results of asteroid impacts. He tells how a band of icy asteroids rimming the solar system, first proposed as a theory in the 1940s, was ignored for more than forty years until renewed interest and technological breakthroughs confirmed the existence of the Kuiper Belt. Peebles also chronicles the discovery of Shoemaker-Levy 9, a comet with twenty-two nuclei that crashed into Jupiter in 1994, releasing many times the energy of the world's nuclear arsenal.

Showing how asteroid research is increasingly collaborative, the book provides insights into the evolution of scientific ideas and the ebb and flow of scientific debate.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Asteroids are many things to many people. For some observers, those "mountains in the sky" point to the cataclysmic origins of the universe. Others see untold wealth in the planetary fragments, which harbor great stores of precious metals. Still others see in asteroids the likelihood of global destruction--after all, one of them, slamming into the earth millions of years ago, may very well have condemned the dinosaurs to extinction, and deep space harbors untold potential threats to the earth.

In this engaging volume, Curtis Peebles surveys the science of asteroids, offering a highly readable account of the many ways in which they form out of the flotsam and jetsam of larger celestial bodies, the dust and debris of space. He adds to this scientific overview an anecdotal history of asteroid discovery and detection, which, he writes, was often the work of gifted astronomers working with less than ideal equipment, and all too often dismissed by their professional counterparts. Peebles discusses in detail the rules by which asteroids are catalogued and named--some, for instance, bear the monikers of eminent scientists, others of their patrons, and still others of more unlikely honorees, such as the group of asteroids named for the various Beatles. He also touches on efforts to protect Earth from asteroid impacts--the father of that planetary defense being none other than the poet Lord Byron--which he calls "the only natural disaster that human society can prevent."

Students of the history of space science will profit from Peebles's careful research, while astronomy buffs will enjoy his lucid narrative. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Numerous and relatively small, asteroids once merited no more from leading astronomers than contemptuous dismissal as "the vermin of the skies." But these small celestial wanderers have garnered considerable attention in recent years as the likely cause of the dinosaurs' demise and as a possible threat to our own survival as a species. Peebles puts the latest developments in asteroid science in their proper place in a history that dates back to Kepler's inspired guess at locating the asteroid belt. Advanced by both poorly equipped amateurs and by world-renowned professionals, the study of asteroids has repeatedly shattered scientific orthodoxies, forcing theorists to rethink the structure of the solar system and the history of our own planet, while spurring observers to devise new astronomical techniques and equipment. In recounting controversies sparked by asteroid research, Peebles transports readers far beyond Jupiter and then back again, to a huge crater in northern Arizona. The Arizona crater, as it turns out, may help solve the mystery of the dinosaurs' extinction, even as it forces international debates over the need for a planetary defense against an asteroid catastrophe. Peopling his real-life chronicle with unpredictable personalities and punctuating it with feats of intellectual wizardry, Peebles leaves mere science fiction far behind. Bryce Christensen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560989823
• ISBN-13: 978-1560989820
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,671,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for those interested in the topic, January 31, 2002

By 

Kevin W. Parker (Greenbelt, MD) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asteroids: A History (Smithsonian History of Aviation & Spaceflight Series) (Hardcover)

Once upon a time, asteroids were "the vermin of the skies," as Peebles indicates. However, with the success of the NEAR mission and with concerns over the cataclysmic effects of asteroid impacts making their way even into popular culture, they are of great interest today.

The book lives up to the title, providing a very brief background on the birth of modern astronomy with Kepler and Galileo before getting to the discovery of the first asteroids. The first clue was the large gap between Mars and Jupiter, where astronomers in the 1700s began looking for a missing planet. By early in the next century, they'd found several, though they were all too small. And by the early 1900s, astronomers were getting a little tired of them, there were so many (about 2,000).

Skipping up to modern times, we now have dedicated instruments that are all but swamping the system with findings: The Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project, using automated techniques, found over 25,000 new asteroids in less than two years.

Peebles also focuses on different categories of asteroids, since not all are found between Earth and Mars: some approach the Earth (sometimes unnervingly closely), while others, in the Kuiper Belt, are beyond the orbit of Neptune. The discovery of each of these classes is described in separate chapters as well as, when appropriate, the theory behind the formation of each and how it was developed.

Two chapters serve as something of footnotes, one on the different sources of asteroid names (dead astronomers, Greek mythology, places, etc.), and the other on the controversy in San Diego over streetlighting. The latter seems somewhat out-of-place in this book, though the story is worth telling: basically, there was a great fight over whether the city should install streetlights with a low impact on the nearby Palomar Observatory or a higher impact. The former were disliked by some due to their orangish, unflattering lighting. To make a long story short, the astronomers win in the short-run but lose in the long-run as a new administration comes in and, at significant expense, votes to install the high-impact lighting. Peebles does not describe the resulting effects at Mt. Palomar, which is a great absence from the book and effectively undercuts much of his argument.

The final chapters cover the potential for asteroid impacts, the discovery of Shoemaker-Levy 9 and its subsequent impact on Jupiter, and the possibility of defending against impacts.

Some minor goofs: Minor Planet Center director Brian Marsden (one of the most significant figures in modern solar system astronomy) is referred to as "Bruce Marsden" once, and the NASA administrator during the Challenger disaster, James Beggs, is consistently referred to as "Biggs."

My only other criticism is that the recounting gets a little tedious at times: asteroid X is discovered, then asteroid Y, then asteroid Z, and so on. But that would be a little hard to avoid in this sort of history, and Peebles manages to provide enough background, covering theory, techniques, and historical circumstances, to stay out of that rut most of the time.

It's an excellent book for those interested in the topic.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile despite a quirky complaint..., July 28, 2001

By 

John Rummel (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asteroids: A History (Paperback)

An outstanding introductory and reference work on the current thinking behind the asteroid phenomenon, including the controversies over naming, geological studies etc. Covers in some depth the main periods of asteroid discovery, from visual to photographic to automated. Also deals briefly with issues of asteroid origin; a very interesting discussion of the analysis of "groups" of asteroids, identified by similarities in their orbital elements, as well as interesting treatment of Jupiter's effects on sweeping out lanes in the asteroid belt. Excellent treatment of the NEA threat, from its inception up through the SL-9 impact.

Quirky treatment of light pollution in the middle of the book, in the context of the naming phenomenon (an asteroid was named for the city of San Diego after a light pollution ordinance was passed, but later rescinded, though the asteroid kept its name). It was an interesting discussion, and a story that deserves to be told, but didn't belong in the middle of this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A tribute to the asteroids and comets hunters, June 24, 2001

By 

Mario Porto "Mario Porto" (Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asteroids: A History (Smithsonian History of Aviation & Spaceflight Series) (Hardcover)

A very good book to anyone that desires to acquire a good glimmer about the subject of Near Earth Objects and their threat to our civilization.

It covers all aspects from technical to politics and is a real tribute to many dedicated professionals and amateurs astronomers, geologist and others various scientists which are making history in asteroid and comets hunting. It also make me disapointed to know that the Southern hemisphere, were I live, is like a blind concerning the NEOs search effort.

Only one aspect prevent me too score 5 stars: In my opinion, the too long discussion on chapter 8 about he streetlights issue of San Diego.

A wonderful start book for anyone who intend to initiate in the NEOs study.