Falling Sky: The Science And History Of Meteorites And Why We Should Learn To Love Them - Hardcover

Nield, Ted; Granta Books

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0762778288 ISBN 13: 9780762778287

Verlag: Lyons Press, 2011

Inhaltsangabe

Did an enormous collision in the Asteroid Belt, orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter, bombard Earth with meteorites 470 million years ago? Astonishing new research suggests it did, and a revolutionary theory is emerging that this bombardment resulted in the single greatest increase in biological diversity on the planet since the origin of life.

Introducing these discoveries to the general public for the first time, Ted Nield challenges the view that meteorites are bad news. Tracing the history of meteorites from the first recorded strike to the videos made routinely today, he reveals the fascinating ways in which meteorites have transformed from omens of doom to a stepping stone to Mars in twenty-first-century space exploration. TheFalling Sky will shatter everything you thought you knew about one of the most terrifying forces in the universe.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Ted Nield is editor of Geoscientist magazine. A former chair of the Association of British Science Writers and goodwill ambassador for the UN International Year of Planet Earth, he is a fellow of the Geological Society and a member of the Meteoritical Society. His first book, Supercontinent, was published in 2007. He lives in London.

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Meteorites are the stuff of legend, interpreted both as omens of doom and objects of power. But it was only in the eighteenth century that the study of falling space debris became a science and began unlocking the mysteries of the universe.

 

Now new research suggests that the Earth was bombarded with meteorites 470 million years ago from an enormous collision in the Asteroid Belt, which orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter. And a revolutionary theory is emerging, stating that the bombardment resulted in the single greatest increase in biological diversity on the planet since the origin of life.

 

Introducing these discoveries to the general public for the first time, Ted Nield challenges the view that meteorite strikes are bad news for life on Earth. He argues, for example, that the infamous K-T extinction event that everyone thinks wiped out the dinosaurs isn’t the whole picture, that the causes of the mass extinction were much more diverse and complex. By examining the history of meteorites, Nield shows how our interpretations of space matter have varied and how the impacts received fresh urgency with the advent of the atom bomb. Invoking a cast of fascinating characters alongside a wealth of extraordinary research, this is the perfect introduction to the science and history of the falling sky.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Lyons Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2011
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0762778288
• ISBN 13: 9780762778287
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 304
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Simon and Schuster Netherlands BV, GPSR Europäische Union; info@simonandschuster.nl; ; Herculesplein 96; Utrecht; 3584 AA; Niederlande