Pluto The Pup

Frontiers/Controversies in Astrophysics (ASTR 160) Class begins with a review of the first problem set. Newton’s Third Law is applied in explaining how exoplanets are found. An overview of the Solar System is given; each planet is presented individually and its special features are highlighted. Astronomy is discussed as an observational science, and the subject of how to categorize objects in the Solar System is addressed. The Pluto controversy is given special attention and both sides of the argument regarding its status are considered. 00:00 – Chapter 1. Review of the Problem Set 06:22 – Chapter 2. Conservation of Momentum in Exoplanets 14:02 – Chapter 3. Inner and Outer Solar System Objects 29:47 – Chapter 4. Kuiper Belt Objects and Oort Cloud 35:13 – Chapter 5. Classification and Interpretation of Celestial Objects Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: open.yale.edu This course was recorded in Spring 2007.

Science & Reason on Facebook: tinyurl.com Hubble’s Universe Unfiltered 15: Changing Views of Pluto While it may seem that the astronomy community’s views on Pluto changed radically with its reclassification in 2006, the truth is that our understanding of Pluto has always been shifting. This small, icy world in the distant reaches of the solar system is so difficult to observe that, even with Hubble’s keen resolution, it only shows up as a few pixels in an image. Only with patience, lots of observations, and huge amounts of computing power have we been able to create approximate surface maps of Pluto and discover some surprising alterations to its surface. Improved imagery yields improved insight. We now comprehend Pluto’s place within the solar system, and the exploration of that region has really just begun. Hubble’s Universe Unfiltered is a collection of video podcasts. Each episode offers an in-depth explanation of the latest news story or image from the Hubble Space Telescope, presented by astronomer Frank Summers. — Please subscribe to Science & Reason: • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com • www.youtube.com — NOTES * In the video podcast, I jokingly refer to “Percival Lowell’s Greatest Mistakes” being 1.) the claim that Mars had a civilization using canals, and 2.) the prediction of a large planet beyond Neptune. Some may recognize this phrasing as an oblique reference to similar wording used in Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker series. (If you’re going …

Pluto was kicked off the list of major planets. It seems to have responded by turning a mysterious red color, according to scientists working with the Hubble Space Telescope. They’re now trying to find out what makes its surface so dynamic. From the Space Telescope Science Institute.

For More Webcasts: www.nasm.si.edu Pluto, Eris, and the Dwarf Planets of the Outer Solar System Presenter: Mike Brown Tuesday, March 20, 2007 The Kuiper Belt is a mysterious region beyond Neptune and stretching more than four billion miles from the Sun. Using powerful telescopes, scientists are scouring the Belt and beyond, finding hundreds of small frigid objects such as Eris, which is larger than Pluto and takes 560 years to orbit the Sun; and smaller Sedna, with an elliptical orbit that takes more than 10000 years to complete. Join Mike Brown as he describes the hunt for these ancient and elusive worlds. Mike Brown is Professor of Planetary Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology and the discoverer, along with colleagues, of Eris (formerly 2003 UB313), Sedna, and other distant bodies. The 2007 Exploring Space Lectures, Journey Through the Outer Solar System, will feature four world-class scholars discussing current missions to the distant realm of the gas giants, the icy Kuiper Belt, and beyond. For More Webcasts: www.nasm.si.edu

Bill Nye talks about why Pluto should’t be called a planet.