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> February 11, 2000:
Hour Two: Planet Pluto?/Galileo Mission
Early last year, a sudden spurt of media attention focussed on the question over whether or not Pluto is actually a planet. While many people have a great attachment to our small, distant neighbor, some astronomers questioned its status as a planet, pointing out that perhaps it should be reclassified as a minor planet or a Trans-Neptunian Object or a Kuiper Belt Object due to its small size, orbit, and other characteristics.
After a good deal of fuss, the International Astronomical Union released a statement saying that Pluto would not be demoted - it would remain a planet in the eyes of the governing body of astronomical science. In just over a week, however, when the brand new, multi-million dollar Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History in New York opens its doors for the first time, visitors won't find Pluto listed among the planets. There are only eight planets listed in the newly revised display. On this hour of Science Friday, we'll talk about why and how the decision was made to defy the recommendations of the IAU, and about the planetary debate over Pluto.
 Europa from afar. NASA image. | We'll also check in with planetary explorers operating the Galileo spacecraft, which has been orbiting Jupiter and its moons since 1995. We'll find out what Galileo scientists have learned about Jupiter, and about the possibility of water -- and possibly even life -- on its moon Europa. Call in with your planetary science questions and comments for this hour of Science Friday. |  Europa's surface close-up, in false color. NASA image. | Guests:
Charles Liu
Co-author, "One Universe: At Home in the Cosmos" (Joseph Henry Press, 2000) Astrophysicist
Department of Astrophysics
American Museum of Natural History
New York, New York
Alan Stern
Co-author, "Pluto and Charon: Ice Worlds on the Ragged Edge of the Solar System" (John Wiley & Sons, 1997)
Director, Space Studies Department
Southwest Research Institute
Boulder, Colorado
Torrence Johnson
Galileo Project Scientist
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, California
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
Much ado about Pluto
The International Astronomical Union, Near Earth Objects (NEOs)
Rose
Center for Earth and Space, American Museum of Natural History
Kuiper Belt Kuiper Belt
Pluto-Kuiper Express
Galileo Mission Home
- This segment produced by:
Karin Vergoth
Web producer:
Charles Bergquist |