Product Details

• Actors: Carolyn Shoemaker, Eugene Shoemaker
• Directors: Eitan Weinreich
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Nat'l Geographic Vid
• DVD Release Date: July 29, 2003
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00009B8F9
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #62,598 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #18 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Series & Studios > National Geographic > Science & Weather
  #60 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Space Exploration

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Asteroids and comets: Every year, millions of these "stray bullets" streak through the skies, and tons of small meteorites strike our planet! Some 65 million years ago, dinosaurs were wiped off the face of the earth - in what many believe was the aftermath of a massive cosmic collision. Could something like this happen again? Scientists believe that the impact of an asteroid only a mile wide would be globally catastrophic. Join extraordinary geologist Eugene Shoemaker and his wife Carolyn who have remapped the heavens with their discoveries of more than 30 comets and hundreds of asteroids. Now that we know what's out there, how can we defend ourselves?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's That Up In The Sky?, September 6, 2004

By	Holy Olio "holy_olio" (Grand Rapids, MI USA) - See all my reviews

It's astonishing that as recently as 1963 the preponderance of opinion was that Meteor Crater was not caused by an impact.

After the last lunar landing impact was established as the overwhelmingly dominant process at work on the lunar surface, but such impacts on Earth were generally still denied.

Despite the fact that the Alvarez theory gained ground from 1980 until the middle of 1994, impact as a common occurence continued to be denied. After the SL9 impact on Jupiter (well covered in this video) the last significant resistance to the K-T impact as the mechanism of extinction for the dinosaurs was swept away. That this catastrophe on another world brought about an overnight change in the sciences was appropriate.

Now there are many impact craters recognized AS impact craters found throughout the world and not just in some comfortably remote location like the Moon or Jupiter. It is now much cheaper to read constrasting views about such events since the anti-impactors' books have appeared in the remainder lists.

Oddly enough, there's still the occasional attempt to deny impacts, such as the 12th century impact on the Moon observed from England, and the attribution of Martian impact craters to volcanism. Perhaps that odd resistance to the idea of impact will someday soon die out. When it does, good riddance.

Asteroids Deadly Impact is my favorite National Geographic video of all time, and I believe I've seen them all. Perhaps it would be a much better world if people would tune out the daytime (and nighttime) tv garbage and watch stuff like this. Certainly would be worth a try.

The video covers the history of impact geology by recounting the career (through 1994) of the now-deceased Eugene Shoemaker, including his finds in the Ries Basin (an impact crater), Barringer Crater (impact crater which we know as "Meteor Crater"), and of course the comet(s) Shoemaker-Levy 9 and his role in the Apollo missions.

This DVD version was a welcome addition to my video collection. The extra features are a bit of a dud (NG ads, and a sort of quiz about impact that eventually loops around to the beginning) and there are some slight changes in the soundtrack (if memory serves), but it's the same show as on VHS, without the degradation of picture quality.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable show about fascinating topic, November 21, 2008

By	kdea473 - See all my reviews

I recently watched this video and was very impressed. I was not familiar with Eugene Shoemaker prior to the video, despite his important role in space exploration. It was a wonderful reminder that behind all of the famous faces of the space program, there are many dedicated scientists who spend years following their passion. I enjoyed learning about how his wife had joined him in his life-long quest.

Unlike one previous reviewer, I did not find the video to be disjointed. Perhaps the title and/or cover image are misleading, since there is a great focus placed on the individuals involved (not just on asteroids).

I highly recommend this for anyone interested in geology or space, including adults, homeschoolers, students, etc.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Danger of Our Place in Space, March 12, 2007

By	W. L. Culbertson (Bryan, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I use this movie regularly in the introduction to astronomy college course I teach. It is a very engaging story, first about Gene Shoemaker, then about Gene, his wife, Carolyn, and their friend David Levy. The movie works on several levels. First, it introduces the subject of cratering and its role in the formation of the planets (and its ongoing effects!). It also shows clearly how science is done, and how one man's quest can change the course of scientific ideas. As a particular bonus, the film makes clear the joy and excitement these people find in doing science and figuring things out. Although I have shown it many, many times, I always find myself being drawn into watching it just one more time...