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An asteroid or comet will inevitably strike the Earth some day, and potentially cause great destruction. This volume considers hazards due to collisions with cosmic objects, particularly in light of recent investigations of impacts by the authors. It places emphasis on fairly small impacting objects, those 50 -100 m in diameter which pose a real threat to humanity, and their influence on the atmosphere and ionosphere. Each chapter, written by an expert, contains an overview of an aspect and new findings in the field. Coverage describes and numerically estimates the main hazardous effects, including cratering, shock, aerial and seismic waves, fires, ejection of dust and soot, and tsunami. It also includes numerical simulations of impacts and impact consequences. In addition, the book features special chapters are devoted to the famous 1908 Tunguska event and new results of its simulations, bolides in the atmosphere and impacts on the early Earth.
Original Russian edition published by V. V. Adushkin and I. V. Nemchinov, Commercial Publishing Centre "Academkniga", 2005
Preface.- 1. Main factors of hazards due to comets and asteroids.- 2. Size-frequency distribution of asteroids and impact craters. Estimates of impact rate.- 3. Cometary hazards.- 4. Bolides in the Earth atmosphere.- 5. Geologic effects of large terrestrial impact crater formation.- 6. Thermal radiation and fires after impacts of cosmic objects. -- 7. Tunguska catastrophe of June 30, 1908.- 8. High-velocity impact ejecta -- tektites and Martian meteorites.- 9. Marine target impacts.- 10. Ionospheric and Magnetospheric effects.- 11. Impacts and evolution of early earth.- Acknowledgements.- References
