Govert Schilling is the author of dozens of popular astronomy books, including Target Earth: Meteorites, Asteroids, Comets, and Other Cosmic Intruders That Threaten Our Planet (The MIT Press). His writing has received numerous awards, such as the David N. Schramm Award from the American Astronomical Society. In 2007, the International Astronomical Union named the asteroid 10986 Govert in his honor.