About the Author

Duncan Steel is a space researcher at the University of Salfordwho has been much involved in the quest to identify asteroids andcomets which threaten life on Earth. He has had an asteroid named for him by colleagues (4713 Steel), and has also himself namedasteroids for various people including his two sons, his wife, thegreat cricketer Sir Donald Bradman, the SF author Sir Arthur C.Clarke, and the character Felix Happer in the movie Local Hero,who really wanted a comet named for himself. Steel has a special interest in the dynamics of solar system objects, and the effects of celestial events on ancient civilisations.