Links & Books

Links

Neil deGrasse Tyson
www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson
Learn more about astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson at this official website created by New York's Hayden Planetarium.

International Astronomical Union: Pluto and the Developing Landscape of Our Solar System
www.iau.org/public_press/themes/pluto/
In 2006, the International Astronomical Union redefined the word "planet" and created a new class of objects, called plutoids, to describe celestial objects like Pluto. Learn more about that decision at their website.

NASA | Pluto
nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/plutopage.html
At this website, you can see some frequently asked questions about Pluto and look up basic facts about the Kuiper belt object.

New Horizons | NASA's Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission
pluto.jhuapl.edu
See the latest images of Pluto taken in the course of the New Horizons mission at this website from NASA.

The Great Planet Debate
gpd.jhuapl.edu
Today, much of the debate about Pluto's reclassification has died down, but at this website you can see abstracts and content from a conference held on the topic in 2008.

MSNBC | Cosmic Log
cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com
See Alan Boyle's latest thoughts on the cosmos at his blog on MSNBC.com.

Books

The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet
by Neil deGrasse Tyson. W. W. Norton & Company, 2009.

The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made a Big Difference
by Alan Boyle. Wiley, 2009.

The Planets: A Journey Through the Solar System
by Giles Sparrow. Quercus, 2009.

11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System
by David A. Aguilar. National Geographic Children's Books, 2008.

Clyde Tombaugh: Discoverer of Planet Pluto
by David H. Levy. Sky Publishing, 2007.

Articles

"New Pluto Pictures Unveiled; Hubble's Sharpest Yet"
by Victoria Jaggard. National Geographic News, February 4, 2010.
news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/02/100204-pluto-hubble-best-pictures

"Underdog Planet: Why We Love Pluto"
by Betsy Mason. Wired, November 11, 2009.
www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/11/pluto_qa_alan_boyle

"Lower Atmosphere of Pluto Revealed"
ScienceDaily, March 3, 2009.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090302133220.htm

"Pluto Is Demoted to 'Dwarf Planet'"
by Dennis Overbye. The New York Times, August 24, 2006.
www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/science/space/25pluto.html?_r=1&ei=5087&en=cfe4d03207c823f2&ex=1172030400&adxnnl=1&excamp

"The Girl Who Named a Planet"
by Paul Rincon. BBC News, January 13, 2006.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4596246.stm

The Pluto Files

• What's Your Favorite Planet?
• Notes From the Pluto Files
• In Defense of Pluto
• Hate Mail From Third Graders
• Can You Remember the Planets?
• My Dad Discovered Pluto