Asteroids : Their Nature and Utilization, 2nd Edition

edited by Charles T Kowol

John Wiley & Sons, 1996
ISBN: 0-471-96039-X

Reviewed by Kasey Rios Asberry

Charles T. Kowol prepared this field guide while serving as Senior Project Engineer for Allied Signal Corp. in the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Mission based at the Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland.

Unlike recent popular environmental holocaust films such as Deep Impact this slim volume surveys the field of asteroid study with remarkable depth. It includes glossary, index and bibliography as well as a variety of useful graphics and historical photos (all black and white). In addition to cataloging asteroids as discovered, Kowol collects and compares theories of asteroidal evolution, their relationships to other bodies such as comets and their implications for planetary system formation. The second part of this book's dual focus is upon the technology that supports the study and exploitation of asteroids such as telescopes, cameras and spacecraft powered by sunlight. Kowol asserts that though prohibitively distant, asteroids "are treasures, waiting to be seized". By mining them he suggests that humans can extend our reach off of Earth and into space. Popular fascination with asteroids' potential destructive power does not discourage Kowol. Instead he welcomes this aprehension as an opportunity to expand asteroid research.