Product Description
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
From the Back Cover
"It has become clear in the 1990s that Pluto and Charon are not odd misfits among the giant planets but are instead the first and most easily detected examples of a large population of small, ice–dwarf planets that were formed in the ancient outer solar system. As such, Pluto and Charon represent more than just a frontier: They are now understood to be a fundamental link between the classical planets and the myriad small bodies orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune. Among the five fascinating and fantastic frozen outer planets, Pluto is the rogue––and only Pluto remains unexplored." ––From Pluto and Charon
Pluto and Charon explores the remote, ice–bound reaches of our planetary system in an interwoven tale of exotic Pluto, its unusual satellite companion Charon, and the dynamic, high–technology world of twentieth–century astronomy. Astronomers Alan Stern and Jacqueline Mitton recount a story of planetary astronomy at its frontier. The book begins with a description of the dramatic discovery of Pluto by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930, and continues through to the latest images of Pluto taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, and the effort to build Pluto Express, a NASA reconnaissance mission to the only planet not yet visited by spacecraft.
Stern and Mitton vividly present the major events in the discovery and exploration of the distant Pluto–Charon and introduce the reader to the researchers whose ingenuity and determination opened up the outer solar system for all to appreciate. Their light and accessible narrative transforms our view of Pluto and Charon from the vague awareness of a faint pinprick of light slowly moving against the constellations into a richer appreciation for a pair of ice worlds with an astonishingly wide range of remarkable attributes. So too, as Stern and Mitton describe, astronomers have evolved their view of Pluto from a planetary footnote to the gateway to the deep outer solar system.
Three themes thread this new book. The first concerns the advances made possible by dramatic improvements in ground–based astronomical instrumentation. Second is the revolution in scientific perspective wrought by spacecraft visits to the planets. Stern and Mitton′s third theme concerns the cultural revolution that has taken place as humans, born and bred on Earth, have come to know exotic and far distant worlds as real places.
Pluto and Charon is the definitive account of the outermost planet in our solar system, its satellite, and its context in the outer solar system. Peppered with tantalizing predictions of discoveries yet to be made, this innovative and accessible book will be valued by all who are interested in science, astronomy, and the exploration of distant frontiers.
