Monday, March 30, 2009

Pluto, Tyson, CNN lecture


From CNN:

"The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet"

Neil deGrasse Tyson talks about the controversy over re-classifying Pluto as a comet. New York's American Museum of Natural History, where this talk was held, was the first public institution to adopt this position.

About 1-1/2 hours.

Pluto


"Naming Pluto"--a film


Pluto="Plutoid"


"Pluto a planet" poll

Pluto...a reader's contribution

Pluto not fitting definition


"The Pluto Files" by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Tyson, Weintraub, Tombaugh & Pluto

Tyson's interview with "Time" on Pluto and planets

What's in a name?--Pluto


Thanks to stringer Tim for the link.

2 comments:

Laurel Kornfeld said...

I attended the Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate on March 10 at the American Museum of Natural History, and the subject was Pluto and planet definition. At this point, it seems Tyson is moving away from certainty that Pluto is a comet to a less definitive position that recognizes we may not yet have enough data to define the term planet. He admitted that planetary science is in its infancy, and coming up with a definition without more knowledge of this and other solar systems might be premature.

Mercury said...

Laurel:

I would like to read a transcript or see a video of the events of March 10th at the American Museum of Natural History. [The date for this event was January 26th, 2009.] Curiously, Tyson's statements may have been a well-calculated inflammatory statement to bolster attendance at the Hayden Planetarium and promote a new book "Is Pluto a Planet?" That is what he was hired to do and write a book to boot.