I know many of you are still fighting for Pluto (let it go, it’s over). You might find tonight’s NOVA special, The Pluto Files on PBS, helpful as you work through your loss. Host Neil deGrasse Tyson (also author of the book The Pluto Files) walks us through Pluto’s story from rise to fall.
Check out the trailer. After tonight’s airing, you can watch the video at the show’s website.
Also at the site is:
- hate-mail from third graders,
- a name your favorite planet contest
- a place to share new ways to remember planet names.
Haven’t had enough, check out the book The Pluto Files.
By the way, I’ve heard Neil deGrasse Tyson speak several times. He is a frequent guest on shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. His enthusiasm is simply awe-inspiring. He is a true fighter for everything science. I recommend following everything he does.
We had a chance to meet and later interview Neil deGrasse Tyson for episode 32 last May. He talked about science literacy and other science education matters; his comments on grades really struck a cord with me.
No, it’s NOT over, and it is clear from “The Pluto Files” that even Tyson recognizes this. He accurately portrays the issue as an ongoing debate with two equally legitimate sides, noting there is no consensus among astronomers as to Pluto’s planet status. Why should anyone “let go” of the fight against a terribly flawed planet definition adopted by four percent of the IAU, most of whom are not planetary scientists, a decision immediately opposed by hundreds of professional astronomers in a formal petition led by New Horizons Principal Investigator Dr. Alan Stern. The IAU may have wanted their decision to end this debate, but the fact is, it did not. Their definition makes no sense in stating that dwarf planets are not planets at all and in defining objects solely by where they are while ignoring what they are. If Earth were in Pluto’s orbit, according to the IAU definition, it would not be a planet either. I for one plan to continue fighting for the planetary status of not just Pluto but of all dwarf planets.
And those homemade telescopes got to me too.
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