A Personal Connection to Pluto

A Personal Connection to Pluto

Lately, I have had folks in my life -- who know I'm an astronomer -- asking me, "Hey Brian, what's up with Pluto?" The whole debate whether Pluto is a planet and the make-up of the Solar System has actually been one of the few examples where something esoteric acutally impacts a whole lot of people....namely textbook- and encyclopaedia-makers and the students who know have to get updated books.

Poor Pluto...it got voted down...so now the Solar System is said to have only 8 planets. This was done when the whole of all astronomers who work on the Solar System held a big meeting in Prague last week or so.

Turns out, I know one of the voters and the person who counted the votes in that meeting...so I have a personal connection to Pluto and the planet debate. The person who actually counted the votes for "Is Pluto a Planet?" is none other than one of my professors: Virginia Trimble. I actually had class from her last year. Can you believe that? That one of the people who taught me astronomy is in fact the person who was managing the whole "conclave" of deciding the truth of the Solar System? Just blows my mind.

-brian