DEFENDING PLANET EARTH: SPECIAL PUBLICATION DETAILS ASTEROID, COMET THREAT

From: http://secureworldfoundation.blogspot.com/2010/03/defending-planet-earth-special.html

A partnership between Secure World Foundation and The Planetary Society has created a special publication devoted to “Defending Our World” – an impressive look at the threat to Earth from asteroids and comets.

This special issue of The Planetary Report has been produced by The Planetary Society and focuses on planetary defense, containing key articles, such as:

-- Protecting the Earth: Whose Job Is It?
-- To Move an Asteroid
-- Turning Cosmic Disaster Into Opportunity
-- We Make It Happen! Doing Our Part to Protect Earth

Phil Smith, Communications Director for the Secure World Foundation (SWF) explained: "Potentially hazardous asteroids are obviously threats we need to address. But they also present opportunities for innovations in policy and engineering. This issue of The Planetary Report highlights the nature of these asteroids, how we might be able to prevent them from impacting Earth, and how we might, in fact, use those objects that do not present an immediate threat."

As stated by Charlene Anderson, editor of The Planetary Report, “They have the potential to destroy civilization, and they whiz past our planet with alarming regularity. Sometimes we see them coming, and sometimes we don’t. They are generically known as near-Earth objects (NEOs), commonly called asteroids and comets, and they pose a natural threat greater than any faced by our species in history. Fortunately for us, it’s a threat we can do something about.”

To access this special issue on NEOs and planetary defense, go here.