Book Description
"Which planet is furthest from the sun? It's a question whose answer has just changed. For the last 20 years, the answer was Neptune, giving scientists the opportunity to study the closer Pluto. As of February 1999, Pluto has again looped out beyond Neptune's orbit, and will remain there until 2,232."--ABCNews.com For the first time in nearly two decades, here is the story of this distant planet of the solar system and its moon Despite our growing understanding of Pluto and its moon Charon, there have not been any books written on them since 1981, when Clyde Tombaugh's book was published in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Pluto's discovery. Now well-known astronomer Alan Stern presents the first popular account of what we have learned about Pluto and Charon since 1980. It starts with the discovery of Pluto in 1930 and culminates with observations obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1996. S. Alan Stern (Louisville, CO) works at Southwest Research Institute. Jacqueline Mitton (Cambridge, England) is a Public Relations Officer at the Royal Astronomical Society.
Synopsis
Rave reviews for Pluto and Charon: Ice Worlds on the Ragged Edge of the Solar System The story of the quest to understand Pluto and the resulting transformation of our concept of the diminutive planet from that of solar-system misfit to king of the Kuiper Belt is told in this book by Alan Stern and Jacqueline Mitton. Stern, a Plutophile to the core, is one of the most energetic, talented, and savvy planetary astronomers in the business today. Mitton, trained as an astronomer, is an experienced writer and editor of scientific books for nonscientists. Together they have created an immensely informative book ...Written in an engaging and informal style, Pluto and Charon takes the reader step by step from the discovery of the ninth planet in 1930 to the current understanding of Pluto and its moon, Charon.-Sky & Telescope More than a book summarizing what we know about [the] planet, [Pluto and Charon is] about how far and how fast astronomical technology has come since 1965 ...Stern and Mitton use the narrative of Pluto research to explain in comfortable, everyday language how such work is done ...One of the nice touches in the book is that Stern and Mitton tell us something about each astronomer.
-Astronomy Pluto and Charon presents the exploration of the ninth planet-written as a vivid historical account-for anyone with an interest in science and astronomy ...the authors describe in simple language the methods researchers use to explore the universe and the way ever-improving instrumentation helps their knowledge advance.-Physics Today
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