Share Spotlight: How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had it Coming

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had it Coming

This week's Share Spotlight is a book by Mike Brown, the astronomer who made the discovery that resulted in the new category of Dwarf Planet and Pluto's expulsion from Planethood. I wrote about the book in one of my Book Roundups a while back, but since it really was the inspiration for the new Astronomical Mythology series I'm working on, I figured it deserved its own Share Spotlight.

The book is funny and moving. I never would have believed that a scientist could write so well. This is how science writing should be done. Just read the book and you will understand. Once you do, tell me what you think!

Mike Brown also has a sort of sporadic blog called Mike Brown's Planets that is well worth a look.

Astronomical Mythology

This week I’m starting on a new series on the Mythology surrounding the figures the different things in our Solar System (and maybe out of it) are named for. We’ll start off with how they get their names.

Everyone knows the names of the 8 (formerly 9) planets in our Solar System. Most of us even know where their names come from, Greek and Roman mythology. But what about all the other bodies in the solar system?

Turns out there are pretty specific rules that govern what a discoverer can call something, based on what sort of thing it is. For example, the moons of Uranus must all be named after Shakespeare characters while the moons of Jupiter must be named after Zeus/Jupiter’s lovers or children.

The four Gallilean moons of Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. (Wikimedia)

Some bodies, such as the first four of Jupiter’s moons back in the 1600s, were named by the people who discovered them. When the formal naming process was created, these names were confirmed and others were made to follow in their mold. Others held a scientific notation, such as Jupiter VI, until the official rules were created.

But who decides what these rules are?

In the 1970s, the International Astronomical Union put together a taskforce to deal with what things should be called and now decides on the “unambiguous astronomical nomenclature” (read How Space Things Are Named So No One Confuses Them with Something Else) that results in the names used for various types of astronomical objects. The IAU is an organization of thousands of astronomers and other cosmologists from around the world that get together every year to decide on important issues in astronomy. They’re the ones who decided that Pluto was a Dwarf Planet back in 2006.

Astronomers, professional or amateurs, must submit their discovery and proposed name to the IAU for scrutiny before it becomes official. They make sure that the name is not already taken and that it accords with the rules for whatever has been discovered.

Curious what all of the rules are? Check out the International Astronomical Union’s website.

Share Spotlight: How Schools Kill Creativity

This week's Share Spotlight comes from Sir Ken Robinson through TED.
How schools kill creativity

In this 20 minute talk from 2006, Sir Ken Robinson, amid numerous jokes, lays out the biggest problem in out current education system: kids are taught that to be wrong or make mistakes is the worst possible thing they can do.

But is a mistake really that bad? Think of all the scientific breakthroughs that came through mistakes. Safety Glass came about because someone didn't clean out a beaker well enough, the first plastic was meant to be a shellac replacement, and tire rubber came from accidentally dropping a rubber mixture onto a hot plate. (Check out this video for more)

How do we make sure that kids (and adults) know that it is alright to make mistakes? What did you think of his other points, on how important the arts are?

December Book Roundup

Since yesterday was a Share Spotlight day, I decided to postpone my Book Roundup until today. Here's the list for December.

The Technologists by Matthew Pearl

            This piece of historical fiction reads like a great thriller novel. Set in 1868, Pearl brings the first class of MIT to life as they race to stop a mad genius whose technological attacks on Boston bring the fledgling college under intense scrutiny. I saw the first plot twist coming. I did not see the second, and had completely given up by the third. The characters are interesting and the science is fantastic. A thick book, but well worth the read.

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown

            This is a nonfiction work by the CalTech astronomer whose 2004 discovery would eventually lead to the creation of a new classification of astronomical body and Pluto’s demotion to a dwarf planet. It’s written in a largely autobiographical style, but the story is fascinating and really gives a peek into how scientists work.

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

            I had a hard time putting this one down. My roommate startled me several times because I had forgotten she was in the room. It’s absolutely fabulous, with incredibly believable characters (which is impressive, given the subject matter). The end is pretty well telegraphed, but, what with the way the book is written, it would be hard for it to be otherwise. One of the few books I’ve read that was definitely worth the hype.