Impact!: Asteroids and the Science of Saving the World – A Scientists in the Field Adventure About Craters and Prevention

Scientists in the Field

by Elizabeth Rusch, Karin Anderson (Illustrator)

In this this thrilling entry into The Scientists in the Field series, follow scientists as they search for dangerous asteroids in space, study asteroids that have crashed into the ground, and strive to prevent an asteroid strike if one ever threatens our planet. Asteroids bombard our atmosphere all the time. Some are harmless, burning up in a flash of light. But others explode with a great sonic boom, smashing windows and throwing people to the ground. Worst of all, some asteroids strike our planet, blasting out massive craters and destroying everything nearby on impact. Follow the award-winning author Elizabeth Rusch into the field with scientists as they search for dangerous asteroids in space, study asteroids that have smashed into the ground, and make plans to prevent an asteroid strike if one ever threatens our planet. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Middle Grade, Picture Books, Space, Juvenile, Stem

80 pages, Hardcover

First published November 14, 2017

About the author

ELIZABETH RUSCH is an award-winning book author, magazine writer, editor, writing teacher and speaker. Her wide-ranging passions include astronomy, volcanology, art, music, history, nature, waves, jokes, crayons, and mud — anything that catches her fancy. She is inspired by stories of exploration and discovery, stories that have been overlooked by history, and stories that grapple with persistent questions. Whether writing fiction or nonfiction for children or adults or teaching workshops, she hopes her work opens doors, opens minds, opens possibilities.

Reviews

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting information, with instructions for how amateur astronomers can help discover asteroids.

[Ezri H · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is very informative and it carry's 7 full chapters that are filled with riveting facts on each page .it has beautiful illustrations by Karin Anderson my favorite one is on page 61 the photo wait i can't tell you you will just have to read it you're self well oh fine i will give you a hint it has something to do with companies getting hired to slay an asteroid.

[June Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Besides oceanography, my favorite area of science to study when I was a middle-grade student was astronomy. My love for space is what prompted me to pick up this new book from the non-fiction shelves at the local public library.

The photographs and diagrams in this book are awesome! I learned so much about asteroids just by studying the photos and diagrams. They are detailed and colorful, and I felt as if they were a nice size for middle-grade readers.

The author has done a fantastic job of presenting complicated information in a reader-friendly manner. She shares some text from interviews she conducted with a geologist who studies craters and rock formations along with a NASA research scientist who is the curator of space rocks for NASA. There is also a passage about an astronomer who uses computers and high-powered telescopes to identify asteroids traveling through space. I feel this engaging material will be meaningful for young readers.

The enthusiasm these scientists exhibit and the excitement that comes through when they share about their various discoveries is a great example for middle-grade readers, I believe. It shows real-life examples of people who have followed their childhood passions when chosing what to study in college so they could attain work in their 'dream' career. It gives students hope that their future jobs don't have to be filled with drudgery. The individuals in this book are role models for youngsters interested in S.T.E.A.M. careers!

The back matter in the book includes a 'What You Can Do!' section which encourages youngsters to discover and track an asteroid, spot a fireball, and collect meteorites. There is a 'Learn More About Asteroids and Meteorites' section which includes print and online resources. The Glossary, which I wisely reviewed before I began reading the book, is thorough.

There is so much to like about this book! Highly-recommended for S.T.E.A.M. educators, parents/grandparents, middle-grade and higher grade students, and adults like me who enjoy reading about astronomy.

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I borrowed a copy of this book from our local public library.

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[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Explores what asteroids and meteorites are, the impact they can have when they hit the Earth, how people are studying them, and various ideas as to how the Earth should respond if a big asteroid is headed on a collision course towards the Earth.

I have to confess, I love those movies that have scientists trying to dream up how to save the Earth from a potential disaster such as an impending asteroid collision. So the last part of this book and the various methods real scientists would suggest to use in a real life situation of this sort was my favorite part. I found it fascinating for both what wouldn't work (which are the methods most movies on this topic have used) and what scientists are leaning towards actually trying. The paintball method was the most surprisingly brilliant. I kinda wish the first part on the theoretical history of asteroids was stated in more theoretical terms. As soon as you print theoretical numbers someone comes up with a new reason to revise the numbers and the "facts" you've just printed become outdated so I prefer more honest writing saying at this point, most scientists would put this date as... Oh well. I did like that about half of the "scientists" in this book are lay scientists and that the book tells readers how they can get involved in meteorite hunting/tracking/reporting, and asteroid hunting right now. It is one of the easiest books so far in the Scientist in the Field series for kids to read and immediately get importantly involved in the science talked about. (Information in the back of the book talks about how to report meteorite sightings, and how to sign up to help hunt for new asteroids for certain national and international organizations.)

Notes on content: Destruction from meteorites mentioned including some human injuries from one in Russia.

[Kaitlin Coppenger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Impact!: Asteroids and the Science of Saving the World is an informational text that shows asteroids form multiple points of view. It provides students with a true story about the asteroid that hit Chelyabinsk in 2013 and what people experienced when it happened. The book goes on to talk about how asteroids and meteorites can range from completely harmless to catastrophic. This text also talks about how scientist gather information from fallen meteorites to predict future asteroids.
I think this is a great book for students to explore during science units because it is written in a manner that older or higher level students can understand and provides pictures and diagrams that could be used on their own with younger students.
I would use parts of this text in my elementary classroom when exploring asteroids and meteorites but I wouldn't use the whole text as it is quite lengthy. I would most likely just pick certain sections that applied to what we were learning about to read to my students (or have them explore in groups).

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rusch, Elizabeth Impact! Asteroids and the Science of Saving the World (Scientists in the Field), 63 pages. Houghton Mifflin, 2017. $19.

Did you know that one hundred tons of space rock land on Earth every single day? But since most of it is dust, we hardly ever notice it. But there are hundreds of scientists all over the world working hard to detect and possibly deflect earth-shattering asteroids from hitting us and causing an era-ending catastrophe like the one that ended the dinosaurs.

Rusch introduces us to a few of the people and much of the science that surrounds learning about and keeping us safe from asteroids. Introduce your students to excellent information about scientists, male and female, working in this space science field.

EL, MS – ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library Teacher
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impact is part of the Scientists in the field series. It begins with an intense flash and a fourth grade class huddling beneath their desks. The 2013 asteroid left the students unharmed and their teacher with glass fragments penetrating her arms and legs. Chapters on how to identify meteorites, the death of the dinosaurs, searches for meteorites in the solar system, and how to prevent asteroid strikes follow. Different theories are presented on how to nudge dangerous asteroids off trajectories that come close to the earth such as shooting 5 tons of paint-ball pellets, huge solar sails, and attaching rockets to the asteroid. Thought provoking and informative, this title should intrigue students interested in astronomy. A table of contents, meteorite hunting, asteroid space missions web sites, asteroid deflection and destruction web sites, glossary, and index are provided.

[Iris Perez]

This is an informational book that gives facts about asteroids, meteors, and meteorites. The book describes how asteroids can be harmless, and there can be some that explode with a sonic boom and crash down affecting people. An example of a meteorite crashing would be that in the book it describes the event that occurred in Russia of a meteorite crashing. The book mentions information from scientists and facts about the topic. I enjoyed the facts that were given in the book. I think that although the book is lengthy, it contains good information. This leads to my teaching idea of the teaching using the book for a read aloud where bits and parts are read to the class and discussed. It can be used when learning about space such as asteroids, meteors, and meteorites. It could be used for students researching information about a topic in class about space.

[Kayla Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book gave a lot of information about asteroids, meteors, and meteorites it talks about how students in Russia did not know what was happening when a meteorite came crashing down near their school. Scientists have studied all about space and they can figure out how big a meteorite it and how fast it was going. There is a lot of information about being a scientist in this field and what you would take in the field. I thought this book was really boring, because it was extremely long about a topic that I was not interested in learning about. I would use this book in my classroom for researching about asteroids, meteors, and meteorites. This book is a good source to teach the students how to research using a book, and how this book is a good source for research.

[Cheyenne Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "Impact! Asteroids and the Science of Saving the World" by Elizabeth Rusch is about the various types of asteroids and their affects on our planet and atmosphere. The author follows scientists in the field as they look for asteroids in space and study the ones that hit Earth. The author does a great job of making the reader think about various possibilities of asteroid effects and encourages critical thinking skills by having readers consider how to prevent a potentially dangerous situation if an asteroid is ever headed towards Earth. I would use this book in a fourth grade classroom as a text set book during a solar system unit.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The other Scientists in the Field book I've read focused on a single scientist. This one follows several different scientists or projects who study different aspects of asteroids or use different tools/approaches.

The book starts with the Chelyabinsk event and then discusses other asteroid impacts, how we learn about them, and our search for future possible events. Very realistic about how collaborative this work is, the multiple disciplines/backgrounds of folks involved, and the importance of funding in continuing these projects.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts with an alarming (true) event of an asteroid hitting the earth and causing massive damage to the nearby city.

Then shows a variety of people from meteorite hunters to people who use ground-based telescopes to hunt for asteroids to people who use space-based telescopes to hunt for asteroids. Also talks about why it's important to find asteroids and track them.

Setup like a chapter book, but in picture book format.

Illustrated mostly with photos and computer graphics, but there are some artist representations of certain things.

[Kayla Aguirre]

Summary: This book talks about asteroids from different angles. It discusses asteroids that have hit the earth, potentially dangerous ones in our solar system, and potential plans to prevent dangerous asteroids from crashing to Earth again.

Evaluation: This book was very informational and great pictures that keep the reader interested in the material.

Activity: Students could use this book for further research on asteroids.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meteorites! They hit the earth now (like in Chelyabinsk in 2013), they can be found on the ground, we can see the craters the big ones leave like in Arizona, one killed the dinosaurs, and there are lots of them still out there. Here's what scientists are doing, ideas on how to prevent one from hitting in the future, and what you can do, too!

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's lots and lots of information packed into this book. It took me about 45 minutes to read through the whole thing. After reading this, I am simultaneously more worried about asteroids and more reassured by the fact that there are lots of people working really hard on making sure a big space rock doesn't smash into us. This is really interesting stuff; kids who love science will eat it up.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phew...now I know we don't have to worry that what happened to the dinosaurs will happen to us. It won't thanks to the scientists hunting and studying asteroids. Really interesting stuff here. Generally the Scientists in the Field books are interesting and well done. This is no exception. Kids will be interested.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out really interestingly with a recent story a meteor that hit Russia! That I found fascinating but when they got into the deep science I bored and couldn't wait for it to be done. I guess for me, I like the facts with a story. So it was good but not an award winner for me!!

[Annie Oosterwyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful book with good information about how asteroids work, the scientists and technologies used to study them and some ideas in the works to prevent collisions with Earth.

[Aud · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series. Kid me would have eaten it with a spoon, because science is cool. Kids will particularly like this one, I think, because who doesn't love space?

[lum琳 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS!!!! i wanna buy a telescope now :(

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about asteroids and how one asteroid came towards earth and exploded in the sky. It discussed the origins of the Chelyabinsk asteroid and the birth of the solar system. There is information about asteroids, meteorites, and craters. I like the book because it was very informational and I learned new things but it was very long with tons and tons of information. I would use this book to teach students on how to write a research paper using the information from the book.

[Misbah · Rating 3 out of 5]

good intro on asteroids and why it's important to look for them and what would happen if one crashed into earth