This week we discuss whether Pluto should or should not retain its status as “Planet”.

I am very interested in your personal opinions but I am more interested in hearing your informed opinions; as such, please start doing research into questions such as WHY Pluto’s status changed, WHEN Pluto’s status changed and WHO were the people involved in this.

Here is a link to help you get started: LINK
It is to a very good interview/discussion on NPR, (Tom Ashbrook interviewing) with one of the scientists behind this occurrence.

“Mike Brown, professor of planetary astronomy at California Institute of Technology. His new book is “How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming.” He discovered Eris, the largest object found in the solar system in the past 150 years, which then resulted in Pluto’s demotion from planet status.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space. He’s a research associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. His books include: “The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet” and “Cosmic Horizons: Astronomy at the Cutting Edge.””

- drplim