"Changes in cosmic environments, from solar storms to asteroid impacts, have altered the course of history. Tracing how such events shaped geopolitics and spurred scientific and cultural innovation, Dagomar Degroot asks what comes next as the solar system becomes increasingly vulnerable to human activity."--

Introduction: Our Cosmic Environment --

Part I.

Sun -- Ice Ages Great and Small -- Changing Stars, Changing Climates -- Hidden Connections and Solar Science -- Solar Storms and Existential Risk -- Conclusion: Harnessing Our Star --

Part II.

Venus -- Measuring the Universe -- Venus as a Changing Earth -- Worlds in Collision -- Remaking Venus and Earth -- Conclusion: Earth's Once and Future Twin? --

Part III.

Moon -- Muses of the Moon -- The Promise and Peril of Lunar Life -- Lunar Changes, Human Ambitions -- Exploiting the Moon -- Conclusion: Navigating the Lunar Anthropocene --

Part IV.

Mars -- Unveiling a New World -- Aliens on an Aged Earth -- Meeting the Martians -- Reshaping Planetary Climates -- Conclusion: A Planet for Dreamers --

Part V.

Comets and Asteroids -- Warnings in the Heavens -- Encountering Near Earth Objects -- Giggles and Close Calls -- Avoiding Jupiter's Fate -- Conclusion: Saving Earth, Fueling the Future? -- Conclusion: A Shore on the Cosmic Ocean