Asteroids: Invaders from Space - Hardcover

Grade 5-9?Asteroids orbit the sun mostly in the space between Mars and Jupiter. They are sometimes pushed from their normal orbits, and occasionally collide with the Earth. Kraske describes the fireball that impacted on the state of Arizona, leaving behind Meteor Crater; the Tunguska event of 1908; and the surprising near miss of 4581 Asclepias that whizzed past the Earth in 1989. The clear, lively text also covers the theory of an asteroid being the cause of the extinction of dinosaurs. Two projects to identify and track Earth orbit-crossing asteroids, Spacewatch and the Palomar Planet-Crossing Asteroid Survey, are described. The author discusses a beneficial use of asteroids?mining them for scarce metals and using them as raw material in manufacturing parts for building space stations. Average-quality, black-and-white photographs, maps, and drawings appear throughout. Their captions impart new information, reinforce facts from the text, and add to the value of the book. A solid purchase.?Margaret M. Hagel, Norfolk Public Library System, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5^-7. Asteroids, those crazy flying rocks from outer space, are treated here with the awe and fear they deserve. Kraske works his audience well, topping off the facts with generous dollops of drama as he reports past collisions and possible future crash scenarios. In addition to all this talk of cosmic mayhem, there is a great deal of solid astronomy and earth science information, too. Readers will learn about land formations caused by asteroids, how future collisions might be averted, the solar system, comets, meteors, and more. Featuring highly readable prose, strong visual aids, and vivid description, this title makes the mind-boggling accessible. Julie Yates Walton