Target Earth Meteorites, Asteroids, Comets, and Other Cosmic Intruders That Threaten Our Planet

An acclaimed science writer tells the story of cosmic projectiles that may be on a collision course with our Earth.


The impact of an asteroid led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Could another giant cosmic missile soon be heading our way? In Target Earth, acclaimed Dutch astronomy writer Govert Schilling provides a full account of what we know, and need to know, about all the extraterrestrial matter constantly bombarding our planet—from microscopic dust particles and space debris to massive meteorites, comets, and asteroids.

Drawing upon the latest scientific discoveries, Schilling explores virtually every aspect of cosmic impacts—from small meteorites to devastating collisions, from the craters that marked our planet’s surface to the impacts that left their mark on other celestial bodies, and from searches for near-miss lumps of rock to ways of protecting humanity from an assault from the cosmos. Along the way, he considers near misses in the past and the possibility of others in the future and ponders the positive side of these visitations from space: If our planet had not been the target of cosmic rubble from its very formation, life on Earth would likely never have gotten started.

Govert Schilling is the author of dozens of popular astronomy books, including The Elephant in the Universe and Ripples in Spacetime. His writing has received numerous awards, including the David N. Schramm Award from the American Astronomical Society. In 2007 the International Astronomical Union named the asteroid 10986 Govert in his honor.