Scientists Rock - an Asteroid Day series

Today on Far Future Horizons we join the rest of the world in commemorating the second annual Asteroid Day by presenting this very special series of videos.

The Day of the Asteroid

Today on Far Future Horizons we present a short documentary titled the “Day of the Asteroid”.

Asteroids ~ Worlds That Never Were

As NASA celebrates its triumphant achievement of  placing the first spacecraft to orbit a dwarf planet,  the asteroid Ceres we at Far Future Horizons join the world in celebrating this achievement.

Today on Far Future Horizons we will be taking a closer look at the Asteroids ~ Worlds That Never Were.

Asteroids: The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Today on Far Future Horizons we present an episode from the highly acclaimed BBC science documentary series titled “Asteroids: The Good the Bad and the Ugly”.

Famed for their ability to inflict Armageddon from outer space, asteroids are now revealing the secrets of how they are responsible for both life and death on our planet. Armed with an array of powerful telescopes, scientists are finding up to 3000 new asteroids every night. And some are heading our way.

Near Earth Objects and Planetary Defense

Today on Far Future Horizons we highlight the outstanding work of the Near Earth Object (NEO) working group within the Space Generation Advisory Council.

The Space Generation Advisory Council  supports  the United Nations Program on Space Applications and is a non-governmental organization which aims to bring the views of students and young space professionals before the United Nations, Space Agencies and other organisations from all over the world.

The Near Earth Object (NEO) working group is dedicated to helping the worldwide planetary defense community to meet one of nature's greatest challenges. The group provides a youth perspective to planetary defense through annual reports, competitions, conference attendance, and public outreach projects related to Near Earth Objects.

Islands in Space: The Challenge of the Planetoids, the Pioneering Work of Dandridge M. Cole

Cut Away View of an Asteroid Hollowed Out and Transformed into a Space Colony

©RoyScarfo

This essay was originally posted on the Discovery Enterprise blog site on August 8, 2007 and blog site of the National Space Society on August 13, 2009. 

This essay was cited in the article "Remembering Dandridge Cole" by Paul Gilster on May 14^th , 2012 in Centauri Dreams.

NASA is again considering the feasibility of manned missions to the asteroids. However, this idea is not without precedent. Scientists began seriously considering asteroids as targets of exploration in the 1960s. The leading proponent of such missions was American aerospace engineer and futurist - Dandridge MacFarland Cole.

October 30th, 2005 marked the 40th anniversary of his untimely passing. Dandridge Cole was only 44 years old when he suffered a fatal heart attack. The anniversary of his death seems to have largely escaped the notice and attention of the space community at large. This brief article seeks to redress that awful oversight.

Stopping the Next Celestial Armageddon

Humanity faces a celestial Sword of Damocles. We can no longer go about our humdrum worldly concerns and abandon any attention to the heavens and the dangers that lurk in the local celestial neighbourhood. We face the celestial equivalent of a 9/11 writ large. Humanity can no longer ignore the objective reality that its long term survival and existence are imperilled.



It sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster: a deadly asteroid is on a collision course with Earth. But in reality, it's only a matter of time before a giant space rock threatens to wipe out civilization. An asteroid took out the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago. Are we next? This episode analyzes the threat and explores the many ways--from a nuclear bomb to ingenious new technology--that experts are proposing to stop Armageddon. Humanity faces an Extraterrestrial Imperative- we either become a spacefaring civilization or face the fate of the dinosaurs.