1300 pgs, 1994, University of Arizona Press
  ISBN 978-0816515059

Documents the beginning of new discipline of detecting and mitigating hazards caused by comets and asteroids.

More than 120 authors collaborated on the volume's 46 chapters chronicling the development of the relatively new discipline of detecting and mitigating hazards caused by comets and asteroids. Topics range from detection to orbit prediction to impact avoidance to damage assessment, balancing historical information with speculation. Of special interest was comet/asteroid activity on or near Jupiter, which allowed study of impact effects from a safe distance. A massive volume with no photographs inside and few illustrations.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part I - Small Bodies

1. Early Impacts: Earth Emergent from its Cosmic Environment
2. Impact Delivery of Volatiles and Organic Molecules to Earth
3. The Impact Hazard
4. Near-Earth Object Interception Workshop
   
   Part II - Searches, Orbit Determination, and Prediction
5. Near-Earth Objects: Present Search Programs
6. Earth-Crossing Asteroids and Comets: Groundbased Search Strategies
7. Detection of Meteoroid Impacts by Optical Sensors in Earth Orbit
8. Warning Times and Impact Probabilities for Long-Period Comets
9. Predicting Close Approaches of Asteroids and Comets to Earth
10. The Role of Groundbased Radar in Near-Earth Object Hazards Identification and Mitigation
    
    Part III - NEO Populations and Impact Flux
11. The Population of Earth-Crossing Asteroids
12. The Flux of Periodic Comets Near Earth
13. Collisional Lifetimes and Impact Statistics of Near-Earth Asteroids
14. Crater Size Distributions and Impact Probabilities on Earth from Lunar, Terrestrial-Planet, and Asteroid Cratering Data
15. The Record of Past Impacts on Earth
16. Are Impacts Correlated in Time?
17. Hazards due to Giant Comets: Climate and Short-Term Catastrophism
    
    Part IV - Physical Properties
18. Physical Properties of Near-Earth Asteroids: Implications for the Hazard Issue
19. Classifying and Modeling NEO Material Properties and Interactions
20. Properties of Cometary Nuclei
21. A Current Working Model of a Comet Nucleus and Implications for NEO Interactions
    
    Part V - Space Exploration
22. Missions to Near-Earth Objects
23. DoD Technologies and Missions of Relevance to Asteroid and Comet Exploration
24. Human Exploration of Near-Earth Asteroids
    
    Part VI - Effects of NEO Impact
25. Computer Simulation of Hypervelocity Impact and Asteroid Explosion
26. Consequences of Impacts of Cosmic Bodies on the Surface of the Earth
27. Tsunami Generated by Small Asteroid Impacts
28. Environmental Perturbations Caused by Impacts
29. Extraterrestrial Impacts and Mass Extinctions of Life
30. Extinctions at the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary: The Link to the Chicxylub Impact
31. Faunal Change Following the Cretaceous-Tertiary Impact: Using Paleontological Data to Assess the Hazards of Impacts
    
    Part VII - Hazard Mitigation
32. Deflection and Fragmentation of Near-Earth Asteroids
33. Defending the Earth Against Impacts from Large Comets and Asteroids
34. The Coupling of Energy to Asteroids and Comets
35. Terminal Intercept for Less Than One Orbital Period Warning
36. Vehicle Systems for Missions to Protect the Earth Against NEO Impacts
37. Space Launch Vehicles
38. The Role of Nuclear Thermal Propulsion in Mitigating Earth-Threatening Asteroids
39. Applications of Nuclear Propulsion to NEO Interceptors
40. Non-Nuclear Strategies for Deflecting Comets and Asteroids
    
    Part VIII - Considerations for Future Work
41. The Impact Hazards: Issues for the Future
42. The Deflection Dilemma: Use versus Misuse of Technologies for Avoiding Interplanetary Collision Hazards
43. Cost and Benefit of Near-Earth Object Detection and Interception
44. The Comet and Asteroid Impact Hazard in Perspective
45. Evaluating Space Resources in the Context of Earth Impact Hazards: Asteroid Threat or Asteroid Opportunity?
46. The Lesson of Grand Forks: Can a Defense Against Asteroids be Sustained?