TV Program Description
Premiere Broadcast on PBS: March 2, 2010
Dear Mr. Tyson, I think Pluto is a planet. Why do you think
Pluto is no longer a planet? I do not like your anser!!! Pluto
is my faveret planet!!! You are going to have to take all of
the books away and change them. Pluto IS a planet!!!!! Your
friend, Emerson York
When the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden
Planetarium stopped calling Pluto a planet, director Neil
deGrasse Tyson found himself at the center of a firestorm led
by angry, Pluto-loving elementary school students who wrote
letters like the one above. But what is it about this cold,
distant, icy rock that captures so many hearts? Now, almost 10
years after the news broke on the front page of
The New York Times, "Pluto Not a Planet? Only in
New York," and nearly four years after the IAU (International
Astronomical Union) officially reclassified the ninth planet
as a plutoid, NOVA travels cross-country with Tyson to find
out. Based on Tyson's book of the same name, "The Pluto Files"
premieres Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at 8pm ET/PT on PBS.
From Boston to California, Tyson's spirited journey explores
the history of Pluto—from the time of its discovery to
its fall from planethood. Along the way, Tyson meets a
fascinating cast of characters, from scientists who argue over
Pluto's status to die-hard "Plutophiles"—regardless of
where they stand they have one thing in common: strong
opinions about Pluto. "The Pluto Files" also includes special
appearances by Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Diane Sawyer, and
Brian Williams, who share their affection for the former
planet. "I'm sorry, I thought planets might be one of the
constants in life," Colbert jests. "But scientists just love
change more than anything else. I'm sorry that's not change I
can believe in."
At Harvard University's football field, Tyson meets up with
some heavy hitters at the top of their scientific game. In a
good-natured debate over Pluto's status, Tyson keeps "score"
of Pluto's planet-like characteristics vs. its oddball traits
with the help of planetary scientist Mark Sykes,
astrophysicist Brian Marsden, and Harvard science historian
Owen Gingerich. Pluto's miniscule size and oblong orbit are
some of the reasons Marsden says Pluto is not a planet, while
Sykes says Pluto is a planet because it's round, like all the
other planets, not potato-shaped like most asteroids.
"Like any good road trip, 'The Pluto Files' is filled with
great stories; this one includes scientific history, current
debate, and human emotion," remarks Paula S. Apsell, senior
executive producer for NOVA and director of the WGBH Science
Unit. "Pluto sparked something in the American people, and
this program is a wonderful tribute that viewers of all ages
will find entertaining and enlightening."
At Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, Tyson meets
world-famous cartoon character Pluto, and Walt Disney's
great-nephew, Roy Patrick Disney. While there's no written
documentation to prove the good-natured bloodhound was named
after the planet (one of the most frequently asked questions
at the Disney archive), it is well known that Walt was
fascinated with space exploration. Roy Patrick believes it
"wasn't an accident, it was fate." But however the loveable
pup got its name, Tyson thinks it's had a profound effect on
planet Pluto, giving it a "warm and fuzzy feeling," says
Tyson. "Cosmic objects don't normally trigger warm and fuzzy
feelings."
One of the most memorable stops along the way is Streator,
Illinois, home to Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh. In 1930,
Tombaugh, a self-taught 24-year-old farm boy with a passion
for studying the universe, reported his discovery, one that
remains the talk of the town. Tyson gets a strong sense of
Tombaugh's "hero" status from chatting with folks at the local
barber and coffee shops. They take great pride in Tombaugh's
world-renowned discovery—honoring him with plaques and
naming their main street after him.
Delving deeper into Tombaugh history, Tyson visits with
Tombaugh family members in New Mexico, including his
97-year-old widow. He's humbled by the collection of
Tombaugh's homemade telescopes, made from discarded car parts
and not always surplus farm equipment. In a local church,
while looking at a stained glass window that celebrates
Tombaugh's life and remarkable achievements, Tyson
thoughtfully reflects, "How many scientists have stained glass
windows of them? It's more than just a celebration of his
discovery; it's a celebration of his life, overcoming
obstacles that would keep most people down. To me, that's the
message here."
In California, Tyson sits down for a barbecue and celestial
conversation with astrophysicists Mike Brown and David Jewitt.
It was their desire to see beyond the outer solar system that
led to the discovery of the Kuiper Belt and eventually the
debate over Pluto's planetary status. Discovered by Jewitt and
his colleague Jane Luu in 1992, the Kuiper Belt is a region of
the solar system never before seen. Billions of miles wide,
it's chock full of celestial objects, leftovers from the
formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Most of
these leftovers are much smaller than Pluto. But in 2005,
Brown found something extraordinary: a Kuiper Belt object
larger than Pluto. Was it the 10th planet? Was Pluto still a
planet? The scientific community was faced with a
problem—a Pluto problem.
The IAU, in charge of naming celestial objects, couldn't give
Brown's discovery an official name until they decided what it
was: a planet or an iceball in the solar system's deep freeze.
That meant the IAU had to do something that hadn't been done
since the ancient Greeks formally defined the word
planet. The new definition of planet states that a
planet must clear the neighborhood around its orbit—not
good news for Pluto or Brown's discovery since they're both
surrounded by Kuiper Belt objects.
So in 2006, after 75 years in the limelight, Pluto was no
longer a planet. Many planetary scientists were upset with the
news. Within days of the announcement, a petition signed by
hundreds of scientists rejected the IAU decision. On his way
back to New York, Tyson stops at John Hopkins University's
Applied Physics Lab in Baltimore, Maryland, where he meets
Alan Stern, a staunch Pluto supporter and one of the world's
leading experts on Pluto. Stern is the principal investigator
of the New Horizons mission—a
nine-and-a-half-year voyage to Pluto, which launched in 2006.
Stern's assessment of Pluto is that it is a new kind of
planet, a dwarf planet. "It looked like the solar system
consisted of four terrestrial planets, four giant planets, and
misfit Pluto," says Stern. "But today, instead, we see a solar
system with four terrestrial planets, four freakishly giant
planets, and a whole cohort of Pluto-like objects that turn
out to be the dominant class of planet in our solar system."
So then, what is Pluto? Is it a planet? Is it just an ice
ball? The debate continues.
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