Radio Times: Neil Degrasse Tyson on Pluto
Friday, June 12th, 2009
Astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson is Director of the Hayden Planetarium and the Rose Center of Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Tyson has long been in the center of a dispute between scientists and the public over Pluto's planet credentials. In 2006 The International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially demoted Pluto to "dwarf planet" status. Tyson's new book, "The Pluto Files: the Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet" is a mini-history of planets, and tells the story of how Pluto was downgraded after holding the post of most popular planet.
Listen live at 11am, Friday June 12th, 2009
It is important to note that Tyson has distanced himself from the controversial 2006 IAU decision, which he himself admits is flawed. At this point, he even admits that the debate is not over, that it might be too early in the study of planetary scientists for anyone to be defining what a planet is in the first place. This was pretty much his message at the Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate, which he moderated at the American Museum of Natural History on March 10, 2009.
Significantly, only four percent of the IAU voted on Pluto's demotion, and most are not planetary scientists. Their decision was immediately rejected by hundreds of professional astronomers led by Dr. Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto.
This debate is far from over. For another perspective, anyone interested in this topic should read "Is Pluto A Planet" by Dr. David Weintraub. Also, please visit my Pluto blog, which discusses the scientific reasons for Pluto maintaining its planet status and chronicles worldwide efforts to overturn the demotion, at http://laurele.livejournal.com