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Original Essays | June 11, 2013
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How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Comingby Mike Brown
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:The solar system most of us grew up with included nine planets, with Mercury closest to the sun and Pluto at the outer edge. Then, in 2005, astronomer Mike Brown made the discovery of a lifetime: a tenth planet, Eris, slightly bigger than Pluto. But instead of its resulting in one more planet being added to our solar system, Brown’s find ignited a firestorm of controversy that riled the usually sedate world of astronomy and launched him into the public eye. The debate culminated in the demotion of Pluto from real planet to the newly coined category of “dwarf” planet. Suddenly Brown was receiving hate mail from schoolchildren and being bombarded by TV reporters—all because of the discovery he had spent years searching for and a lifetime dreaming about.
Filled with both humor and drama, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming is Mike Brown’s engaging first-person account of the most tumultuous year in modern astronomy—which he inadvertently caused. As it guides readers through important scientific concepts and inspires us to think more deeply about our place in the cosmos, it is also an entertaining and enlightening personal story: While Brown sought to expand our understanding of the vast nature of space, his own life was changed in the most immediate, human ways by love, birth, and death. A heartfelt and personal perspective on the demotion of everyone’s favorite farflung planet, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming is the book for anyone, young or old, who has ever dreamed of exploring the universe—and who among us hasn’t? Synopsis:A dramatic account by the astronomer who inadvertently triggered the "demotion" of Pluto in his effort to officially recognize the solar system's 10th planet describes ensuing debates and public outcry while revealing the behind-the-scenes story of his discovery.
About the Author\Mike Brown is the Richard and Barbara Rosenberg Professor of Planetary Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. In 2006 he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 People Who Shape Our World as well as one of Los Angeles magazine’s Most Influential People in L.A. He lives in Southern California with his wife and daughter.
Table of ContentsPrologue: Pluto dies — What is a planet? — A millennium of planets — The moon is my nemesis — The second-best thing — An icy nail — The end of the solar system — Raining = pouring — Lilah, an intermission — The tenth planet — Stealing the show — Planet or not — Mean very evil men — Discord and strife.
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History and Social Science » World History » General
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