An Introduction to Planetary Defense

An Introduction to Planetary Defense
Author: Travis S. Taylor
Publisher: Brown Walker Press
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2006-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781581124477

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Offers a look at defending the planet in the event of an extra-terrestrial invasion.

Planetary Defense

Planetary Defense
Author: Nikola Schmidt
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 475
Release: 2018-12-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030010007

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Planetary defense from near-Earth objects such as asteroids is a far more nuanced and challenging topic than it might seem. Each day, technology is making it easier to detect asteroid impact threats in advance, but at present, there is still no easy way to design and implement any form of global defense. This book examines how various asteroid deflection methods can change global political affairs. The authors believe that the final policy for potential Earth impacts should be based on practical engineering solutions and innovative architectural structures, while at the same time reflecting the most recent political science contributions in ethical security studies and security cosmopolitanism. Their focus is not limited to effective engineering solutions, but rather extends to how such proposals resonate in possible political structures of the future. Planetary defense cannot be achieved with technology alone; the chapters in this volume highlight the issues that arise when space science and technology intersect with political science. This complex interdisciplinary project not only demands global participation and collaboration, but also proposes the way we can achieve it. The authors explore various concepts of governance and their far-reaching implications for planetary defense and vice versa—how scientific progress in Solar System observations and asteroid collision engineering influence political science and put pressure on the international legal framework. The text is intentionally written for a diverse scholarly and diplomatic audience in a style accessible to non-specialists and practitioners and can be read by those across diverse disciplinary backgrounds.

Legal Aspects of Planetary Defence

Legal Aspects of Planetary Defence
Author: Irmgard Marboe
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 458
Release: 2021-09-27
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9004467602

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Impacts by asteroids or comets on Earth may lead to natural disasters of catastrophic dimensions. This book addresses legal and policy aspects of ‘planetary defence’ activities by space agencies and other actors aiming at the prediction and mitigation of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs).

Planetary Defense

Planetary Defense
Author: Patrick Stakem
Publisher:
Total Pages: 54
Release: 2018-11-07
Genre:
ISBN: 9781731001207

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This book covers the topic of Earth's Planetary Defense. This is not for the purposes of repelling an alien invasion, although the military has probably thought of that. Any civilization that could reach us is undeniably more technological advanced. We are focused, however, on big chunks of rock that could cause massive damage, and end civilization as we know it. It has happened - ask the dinosaurs. Ocean impacts, and Earth is covered by 75% water, recall, could trigger massive Tsunamis.The National Science and Technology Council is on record as saying we are unprepared as a nation for a large asteroid impact event. The last impact of a object some 10 km in size, 66 million years ago, caused an "extinction event." A four meter asteroid enters the Earth's atmosphere about once a year. For seven meters, its 5 years. That size produces a Hiroshima-sized explosion. For 20 meter asteroids, its twice per century. We just had one in 2013. We have had a success rate of four asteroids detected before they hit Earth's surface. It's the ones we don't detect that should trouble us. That, and the fact we don't have a clue on what to do about it, if its detected.

Planetary Health

Planetary Health
Author: Samuel Myers
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 538
Release: 2020-08-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1610919661

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Human health depends on the health of the planet. Earth’s natural systems—the air, the water, the biodiversity, the climate—are our life support systems. Yet climate change, biodiversity loss, scarcity of land and freshwater, pollution and other threats are degrading these systems. The emerging field of planetary health aims to understand how these changes threaten our health and how to protect ourselves and the rest of the biosphere. Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves provides a readable introduction to this new paradigm. With an interdisciplinary approach, the book addresses a wide range of health impacts felt in the Anthropocene, including food and nutrition, infectious disease, non-communicable disease, dislocation and conflict, and mental health. It also presents strategies to combat environmental changes and its ill-effects, such as controlling toxic exposures, investing in clean energy, improving urban design, and more. Chapters are authored by widely recognized experts. The result is a comprehensive and optimistic overview of a growing field that is being adopted by researchers and universities around the world. Students of public health will gain a solid grounding in the new challenges their profession must confront, while those in the environmental sciences, agriculture, the design professions, and other fields will become familiar with the human consequences of planetary changes. Understanding how our changing environment affects our health is increasingly critical to a variety of disciplines and professions. Planetary Health is the definitive guide to this vital field.

Handbook of Cosmic Hazards and Planetary Defense

Handbook of Cosmic Hazards and Planetary Defense
Author: Joseph N. Pelton
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015-04-27
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9783319039510

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Covers in a comprehensive fashion all aspects of cosmic hazards and possible strategies for contending with these threats through a comprehensive planetary defense strategy. This handbook brings together in a single reference work a rich blend of information about the various types of cosmic threats that are posed to human civilization by asteroids, comets, bolides, meteors, solar flares and coronal mass ejections, cosmic radiation and other types of threats that are only recently beginning to be understood and studied, such as investigation of the “cracks” in the protective shield provided by the Van Allen belts and the geomagnetosphere, of matter-antimatter collisions, orbital debris and radiological or biological contamination. Some areas that are addressed involve areas about which there is a good deal of information that has been collected for many decades by multiple space missions run by many different space agencies, observatories and scientific researchers. Other areas involving research and studies that have only recently gotten underway are discussed by some of the world’s foremost experts in each of these areas, who provide up-to-date and scientifically verifiable information. Although much of the work in these various areas have been conducted by space agencies, an expanding range of work is also being carried out by observatories, by universities and other research centers, and even by private foundations and professional organizations. The purpose of this work is thus several-fold: to include the latest information and most systematic research from around the world in a single reference work; to note where there are significant gaps in knowledge where new research, spacecraft, observatories, or other initiatives are needed to fill in critical missing information; and to give the best possible information about preventative actions that might be taken against cosmic threats and identify various alternative strategies that are now under way or planned to cope with these various threats.

Alien Invasion

Alien Invasion
Author: Travis S. Taylor
Publisher: Baen Publishing Enterprises
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2011-06-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1618248146

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What if there really are aliens and they do attack? Read what two scientists reveal in this "how-to" survival manual for the space age. Some events (such as a deliberate asteroid strike) produce such a massive setback to life, the Earth and humanity that we must understand and prepare for them, even if the chances are low that they'll come about. But where to begin? Drs. Travis S. Taylor and Bob Boan are experienced scientists, physicists with expertise in both defense and military signal intelligence and experience working with the Department of Defense and NASA. These two intellectual heavyweights take us on an amazing journey through what we do¾and do not¾know about how to defend ourselves from space. Sure, that day may never come in our lifetimes¾but everyone should have a copy of this lying around just in case. . . . At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Planets and Planetary Systems

Planets and Planetary Systems
Author: Stephen Eales
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2009-08-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0470016922

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Planetary Science is an exciting, fast-moving, interdisciplinary field with courses taught in a wide range of departments, including astronomy, physics, chemistry, earth sciences and biology. Planets and Planetary Systems is a well-written, concise introductory textbook on the science of planets within our own and other solar systems. Keeping mathematics to a minimum, assuming only a rudimentary knowledge of calculus, the book begins with a description of the basic properties of the planets in our solar systems, and then moves on to compare them with what is known about planets in other solar systems. It continues by looking at the surfaces, interiors and atmospheres of the planets and then covers the dynamics and origin of planetary systems. The book closes with a look at the role of life in planetary systems. · An accessible, concise introduction to planets and planetary systems · Uses insights from all the disciplines underlying planetary science · Incorporates results from recent planetary space missions, such as Cassini to Saturn and a number of missions to Mars · Well illustrated throughout, including a colour plate section Planets and Planetary Systems is invaluable to students taking courses in planetary science across a wide range of disciplines and of interest to researchers and many keen amateur astronomers, needing an up-to-date introduction to this exciting subject.

Should the USAF Be Involved in Planetary Defense

Should the USAF Be Involved in Planetary Defense
Author: U. S. Air U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 42
Release: 2014-06-05
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9781499776652

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Should the United States Air Force take in the nation's stance on planetary defense? Planetary defense in this paper means protecting the planet and therefore our nation from the impact of large Near Earth Objects (NEOs). This topic is usually relegated to the realm of science fiction movies and books but the consequences of such an impact are too great to ignore and simply dismissing it as impossible. Before addressing the role of the United States Air Force in such project, the problem of a NEO impact is analyzed. First, the paper analyzes the problem itself and discusses the probability that a NEO large enough to cause damage will impact the earth. There is discussion of past NEO impacts during the earth's history and the craters that leave us tell tale signs of these impacts that we can gather data from. Secondly, the effects and consequences of a NEO impact are discussed. This shows the reader how even though the probability may be low, the consequences are so high that we mush take a possible NEO impact as a serious matter. The paper then discusses how to predict and prevent an impact. In this chapter there is discussion on what the U.S. and other governments are currently doing to prepare for such an impact. We look at how many objects are cataloged that could possibly strike the earth in the near future and what we're currently doing to give the earth advance warning. Also discussed are possible options to prevent an impact once a NEO is discovered to be on a collision course with the earth. Finally the problem solution method is used to analyze what U.S. government agencies should have a role in planetary defense, including those that are already contributing or those that do not have a role. The conclusion reached is that the United States Air Force should play an increasing role in planetary defense. The Air Force possesses unique tracking, weapon and space launch capabilities that could greatly aid in the development of a formalized planetary defense system fielded by the U.S. government.