Towards rational international policies on the NEO hazard

Abstract

Astronomy may be the purest of sciences, but even astronomy must interface with the rest of society. First, society influences astronomy: Astronomical research is largely supported by public funds, and political priorities decide which of our favorite projects may become reality. And waste from human activity increasingly limits our ability to distinguish the faint signals from the Universe from such human-generated interference as light pollution, space junk, and radio noise from the ground and from space. © 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.