Episode 14: Harbingers of Cataclysm

Centuries ago, the work of Edmond Halley demonstrated to the world that comets were not evil omens as many superstitious Europeans believed but celestial bodies in outer space. Even so, comets and asteroids could pose a direct threat to all life on Earth. The real question is whether humanity has the tools to meet that threat?
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PHOTO CAPTION: Comet Lovejoy near the constellation Ursa Major
NASA/MSFC/Jacobs Technology/ESSSA/Aaron Kingery
REFERENCES:
'Edmond Halley: Charting the Heavens and the Seas'
by Alan Cook
'The Day the Mesozoic Died: How the Story of the Dinosaurs' Demise was Uncovered'
by Sean B. Carrol
http://nautil.us/issue/32/space/the-day-the-mesozoic-died
'Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni (1756-1827) and the origins of modern meteorite research'
by Ursula B. Marvin
'Asteroid Apocalypse? Why Scientists Worry About 2036 'Planet Buster'. Newsweek.com
by Michio Kaku
https://www.newsweek.com/asteroid-apocalypse-why-scientists-worry-about-2036-planet-buster-63395
'Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission', NASA.gov
https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/dart
MUSIC:
"Shores of Avalon" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
"Perspectives" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
"Infinite Perspective" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
"Ossuary 1: A Begining" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
"Ossuary 6: Air" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/