false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172874833m/227199.jpg 227199 1 <p><center><b>A Note from the Author</b></center></p><p>On August 24, 2006, at the 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Prague, by a majority vote of only the 424 members present, the IAU (an organization of over 10,000 members) passed a resolution defining "planet" in such a way as to exclude Pluto and established a new class of objects in the solar system to be called "dwarf planets," which was deliberately designed to include Pluto.<br/>Click here to read more<hr>With the discovery of 2003 UB313--an outer solar system object thought to be both slightly larger than Pluto and twice as far from the Sun--astronomers have again been thrown into an age-old debate about what is and what is not a planet. One of many sizeable hunks of rock and ice in the Kuiper Belt, 2003 UB313 has resisted easy classification and inspired much controversy over the definition of planethood. But, Pluto itself has been subject to controversy since its discovery in 1930, and questions over its status linger. Is it a planet? What exactly is a planet?</p><p> <i>Is Pluto a Planet?</i> tells the story of how the meaning of the word "planet" has changed from antiquity to the present day, as new objects in our solar system have been discovered. In lively, thoroughly accessible prose, David Weintraub provides the historical, philosophical, and astronomical background that allows us to decide for ourselves whether Pluto is indeed a planet.</p><p> The number of possible planets has ranged widely over the centuries, from five to seventeen. This book makes sense of it all--from the ancient Greeks' observation that some stars wander while others don't; to Copernicus, who made Earth a planet but rejected the Sun and the Moon; to the discoveries of comets, Uranus, Ceres, the asteroid belt, Neptune, Pluto, centaurs, the Kuiper Belt and 2003 UB313, and extrasolar planets.</p><p> Weaving the history of our thinking about planets and cosmology into a single, remarkable story, <i>Is Pluto a Planet?</i> is for all those who seek a fuller understanding of the science surrounding both Pluto and the provocative recent discoveries in our outer solar system.</p> 220076 16 10 2006 Is Pluto a Planet?: A Historical Journey through the Solar System total:6|4:5|3:1| 6 23 10 1 4 0 false true Sat Nov 22 05:42:22 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 22 05:51:06 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Sep 24 15:11:55 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 15:11:55 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Apr 22 12:28:59 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 22 12:28:59 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Apr 20 11:44:02 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 11:44:02 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Nov 23 07:19:07 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 23 07:19:07 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Fri Oct 03 09:55:33 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 03 09:55:33 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sun Feb 17 12:55:32 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 27 09:07:06 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 27 09:07:06 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Wed Dec 05 14:02:56 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 05 14:03:01 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Sat Jul 21 13:40:17 -0700 2007 Sat Jul 21 13:40:17 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 06 12:58:15 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 06 15:31:27 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=227199