It's the 21st century, and all is right with the world. Or so it seems.

Vice President Charlie Haskell, who will travel anywhere for a photo op, is about to cut the ribbon for the just-completed American Moonbase. The first Mars voyage is about to leave high orbit, with a woman at the helm. Below, the world is marveling at a rare solar eclipse.

But all that is right is about to go disastrously wrong when an amateur astronomer discovers

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Explains what commets are as well as their history and discusses some of the famous comets.

In 2013, a particularly massive chunk of ice and rock is hurtling towards the Atlantic Ocean. The object's size will fascinate billions and should create the space show of the century. Follow scientists on the trail of the once-in-lifetime comet ISON and explore the cultural obsession with these celestial visitors.

When dark comet UD3 was spotted near Jupiter's orbit, its existence was largely ignored. Benjamin Schwartz, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies knew the threat this eight-kilometer comet posed to the survival of the human race. Ben and his girlfriend Amy Kowalski fly to South America to assemble an international counteraction team. On board a polar icebreaker Jack Campbell, a photographer for National Geographic, works to capture...

Discusses comets, asteroids, and meteors, including what they are made of, where they come from, and why they need to be studied.

"Presents information about asteroids and comets, including fast facts, history, and technology used to study them"--Provided by publisher.

Provides detailed information about how to observe comets with telescopes or binoculars and includes data from the latest space probes sent to Comets Halley, Wild 2, and Tempel. It also explains how to image comets using digital cameras and how to discover comets with just a computer. This book gives a summary of our current knowledge and describes how amateur astronomers can contribute to the body of scientific knowledge of comets. It contains many...