Pluto was in the news in 2015 as the New Horizons spacecraft – which has Jerry’s name on it – finally reached Earth’s distant cousin in the outer reaches of the Solar System, after a journey of 9½ years. But did it actually encounter a planet?
Just 7 months after New Horizons was launched back in January 2006, the International Astronomical Union voted to re-classify Pluto as a Dwarf Planet, resulting in uproar in the astronomical community and starting a controversy that even today still divides opinion among astronomers and the general public alike. But does it need to? Is there not a simple answer?
“Is Pluto A Planet?” covers the thorny question of the status of Pluto. It does this by looking in detail at the IAU definition of a planet and some of its unexpected – and unintended – consequences.
Speaker:
Jerry Stone is a Freelance Space Presenter and runs Spaceflight UK. He gives presentations on a wide range of topics on astronomy and space exploration all over the UK and abroad.He is a Fellow and Council member of the British Interplanetary Society, Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, Board member of the Space Renaissance International and chair of their Space Habitats Committee, Council member of the Federation of Astronomical Societies, a Space Ambassador with the National Space Society and a Senior Associate of the Space Studies Institute.
He is also a broadcaster, having covered many astronomy and space topics on TV and radio, and is the author of two books plus the consultant for several more.