"The Solar System. Dinosaurs. Donkey Kong. What is the missing link? Surprisingly enough, it's meteorites. They explain our past, constructed our present, and could define our future. Impact argues that Earth would be a lifeless, inhospitable piece of rock without being fortuitously assaulted with meteorites throughout the history of the planet. These bombardments transformed Earth's early atmosphere and delivered the complex organic molecules that...

In recent years, an unprecedented interest in novel and revolutionary space missions has risen out of the advanced NASA and ESA programs. Astrophysicists, astronomers, space systems engineers, mathematicians and scientists have been cooperating to implement novel and ground-breaking space missions. Recent progress in mathematical dynamics has enabled development of specialised spacecraft orbits and propulsion systems. Recently, the concept of flying...

"So you've fallen in love with space and now you want to see it for yourself, right? You want to witness the birth of a star, or visit the black hole at the center of our galaxy? You want to know if there are aliens out there, or how to travel though a wormhole? You want the wonders of the universe revealed before your very eyes? Well stop, because all that will probably kill you. From mundane comets in our solar backyard to exotic remnants of the...

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and writer-researcher Avis Lang examine how the methods and tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of war. "The overlap is strong, and the knowledge flows in both directions," say the authors, because astrophysicists and military planners care about many of the same things: multi-spectral detection, ranging, tracking, imaging, high ground, nuclear fusion, and access to space. Tyson and Lang call...

The Manga Guide to the Universe explains how our solar system works; how we calculate distance in space; the Big Bang Theory; and theories about the Universe's evolution and cosmic expansion. Readers explore the Milky Way, faraway galaxies, supernovas, quasars, and black holes, as well as the history of space exploration, including the Moon landing, the launch of the International Space Station, and the Hubble Space Telescope; all with the aid of...