How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming
by Mike Brown
Mem. Ed. $7.99
Pub. Ed. $25.00
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How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming
The solar system in which we grew up included nine planets. Then in 2005, US astronomer Mike Brown made the discovery of a lifetime: a tenth world, Eris, slightly bigger than Pluto, lurking at the outskirts of the solar system. In How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming, Brown treats us to a lively first-person account of his findings and how they eventually led to Pluto’s demotion to “dwarf planet” status.
In his book’s earlier chapters, Brown recalls his first discoveries in the Kuiper Belt, a region of small, mostly icy worlds (including Pluto) that lies beyond Neptune’s orbit. Using a time-consuming routine involving the exhaustive comparison of telescopic images and computer analysis, Brown managed to confirm the existence of worlds named Quaoar, Sedna, and Haumea, all smaller than Pluto.
Following the initial detection of Eris—which went by the preliminary name Xena (after the “Warrior Princess”)—Brown was quickly convinced of its importance. “Nothing this large had been found in the solar system in more than 150 years,” he writes. “History books, textbooks, children’s books would all have to be rewritten.”
But what Brown could not have predicted was the brouhaha that followed the public announcement of the discovery and the subsequent decision by the International Astronomical Union to redefine the solar system’s denizens into two categories, planets and dwarf planets—with Pluto now among the latter. Suddenly he was receiving hate mail from children and being bombarded by television reporters. Ultimately, the book offers insight into the cultural significance of science as well as its technical frontiers.
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming offers a celebrated scientist’s perspective on our brave new planetary neighborhood.
Hardcover : 288 pages
Publisher: Random House Inc. ( December 07, 2010 )
Item #: 13-321550
ISBN: 9780385531085
Product Dimensions: 5.375 x 8.0 inches
Product Weight: 13.0 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
INFORMATIVE 
February 11, 2011
MY BACKGROUND IS AS A RESPIRATORY THERAPIST AND FORMER MARINE. AS YOU CAN SEE NO BACKGROUND IN THE CELESTIAL BUT ALWAYS INTERESTED.
THIS BOOK IS WELL WRITTEN AND EXPLAINS THINGS LIKE HOW PLANETS OR GALAXIES ARE FOUND AND HOW THEY GET THEIR NAMES WHICH I FOUND QUITE INTERESTING.
IF YOU'VE EVER LOOKED UP AT NIGHT AND WISH YOU KNEW MORE THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. AN INTELLIGENT ASTRONOMER TAKING COMPLEX SUBJECTS AND EXPLAINING IT SO SOMEONE LIKE MYSELF CAN UNDERSTAND.
THIS AUTHOR IS NOT SO FULL OF HIMSELF THAT WHILE YOU ARE READING YOU DO NOT FEEL BEING TALKED DOWN TO.
Reviewer: Bob H
INFORMATIVE
February 11, 2011
MY BACKGROUND IS AS A RESPIRATORY THERAPIST AND FORMER MARINE. AS YOU CAN SEE NO BACKGROUND IN THE CELESTIAL BUT ALWAYS INTERESTED.
THIS BOOK IS WELL WRITTEN AND EXPLAINS THINGS LIKE HOW PLANETS OR GALAXIES ARE FOUND AND HOW THEY GET THEIR NAMES WHICH I FOUND QUITE INTERESTING.
IF YOU'VE EVER LOOKED UP AT NIGHT AND WISH YOU KNEW MORE THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. AN INTELLIGENT ASTRONOMER TAKING COMPLEX SUBJECTS AND EXPLAINING IT SO SOMEONE LIKE MYSELF CAN UNDERSTAND.
THIS AUTHOR IS NOT SO FULL OF HIMSELF THAT WHILE YOU ARE READING YOU DO NOT FEEL BEING TALKED DOWN TO.
Reviewer: Bob H
INFORMATIVE
February 11, 2011
MY BACKGROUND IS AS A RESPIRATORY THERAPIST AND FORMER MARINE. AS YOU CAN SEE NO BACKGROUND IN THE CELESTIAL BUT ALWAYS INTERESTED.
THIS BOOK IS WELL WRITTEN AND EXPLAINS THINGS LIKE HOW PLANETS OR GALAXIES ARE FOUND AND HOW THEY GET THEIR NAMES WHICH I FOUND QUITE INTERESTING.
IF YOU'VE EVER LOOKED UP AT NIGHT AND WISH YOU KNEW MORE THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. AN INTELLIGENT ASTRONOMER TAKING COMPLEX SUBJECTS AND EXPLAINING IT SO SOMEONE LIKE MYSELF CAN UNDERSTAND.
THIS AUTHOR IS NOT SO FULL OF HIMSELF THAT WHILE YOU ARE READING YOU DO NOT FEEL BEING TALKED DOWN TO.
Reviewer: Bob H
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