Sponsoring Company: The Kavli Foundation
Soon after Pluto's discovery in 1930, astronomers noticed that it did not
behave much like a planet: its orbit was highly inclined and so elliptical it
even crossed the orbit of Neptune. Pluto’s image as an oddball persisted until
the 1990s, when it was found to be part of the Kuiper Belt, a large population
of icy bodies beyond Neptune consisting of material left over from the planet
formation process. The discovery of the Kuiper Belt permanently changed our view
of how the solar system formed, and showed that Pluto was not so odd after all.
The Pluto–Kuiper Belt story is the quintessential example of how science works:
change—whether we like it or not—is the only way science goes forward.
NSTA wishes to thank The Kavli Foundation for sponsoring this
speaker.
SPEAKERS:
Jane Luu (Draper Laboratory: Cambridge, MA)