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Science Friday > Archives > 2001 > August > August 31, 2001:

Hour Two: Asteroid Defense

Sixty five million years ago, scientists say, an asteroid the size of a small city obliterated the dinosaurs. Are more killer asteroids on their way? Scientists around the world are scanning the heavens for dangerous Earth-bound objects, but the question remains -- if they find them, can they be stopped? On this hour of Science Friday we'll talk about close encounters with asteroids, and plans for an asteroid defense system.

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Listen to this program in RealAudio!

Guests:
Jonathan Tate
Director, Spaceguard Centre
Knighton, Wales, United Kingdom

Erik Asphaug
Professor of Earth Sciences
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California

Donald Yeomans Manager
Near Earth Object Program
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, California

Books/Articles Discussed:

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Related Links:

Spaceguard Portal
U.S. mirror site, Spaceguard Foundation

Near Earth Object Program

Asteroid Comet Impact Hazards

To Nuke or To Nudge
Planetary defense page
Spacewatch
NEAT
AMOS
Victoria
Klet
Ondrejov
ODAS

This segment produced by: Trevor Thieme
Web Producer: Charles Bergquist