Beyond Pluto: Exploring the Outer Limits of the Solar System

by John Keith Davies

Exactly what is beyond Pluto? Why, in the last ten years, has the Solar System more than doubled in size? For the first time, in almost two centuries, an entirely new population of planetary objects has been found that may well explain these two questions. This newly discovered realm of minor planets, now known as the "Kuiper Belt," has reconceptualized our understanding of how the Solar System was formed and has finally given ontological explanations for the enigmatic outer planet Pluto. Beyond Pluto is the fascinating story of how a group of theoretical physicists decided that there must be a population of unknown bodies beyond Pluto and how a small band of astronomers set out to find them. Acclaimed scientist John K. Davies recounts how they predicted the existence of these planetary bodies, how they were eventually discovered, and how Pluto was named. In addition, Davies provides biographies of the astronomers who discovered these new worlds and information on the telescopes they used. John K. Davies is a support scientist for the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) atop the dormant volcano Mauna Kea in Hawaii. He holds PhDs in chemistry and astronomy, discovered six comets while teaching at Leicester University in the UK, and was a member of the ISO-CAM team at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has contributed to magazines such as Astronomy, New Scientist, Sky & Telescope, and Space. In 2000, a small main asteroid belt was named Johndavies in recognition of his numerous contributions to astronomy.

Genres: Science, Astronomy

246 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

John Keith Davies (b. 1955) is staff astronomer at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC) in Edinburgh. Before that, he was a support astronomer for the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii. He is helping to organize a European Network called OPTICON and also does research on comets and asteroids. Over the years, he has also been involved in building and operating astronomical satellites, flight testing fighter aeroplanes and doing chemistry.

Reviews

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to get into this book but the prose was such that it just wasn't going to happen. Shelved it after a few chapters.

[S.E. Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for a planetary science class, and let me just say how refreshing it is to find a book that is both an incredible resource and has a sense of humor? Highly recommend!

[Mathew Englander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book at the library because I thought (based on the title) that it was about the findings of NASA's New Horizons mission. Only after I started reading did I notice that the book was published in 2001, five years before New Horizons even departed Earth. Obviously the book is out of date because knowledge about the Kuiper Belt has increased immensely between 2001 and 2018. However, the book takes a historical approach, focusing on what questions prompted astronomers to take what steps. The first five chapters are particularly interesting. John Davies has a very readable style; his book does not assume any previous knowledge of astronomy. One of the themes is how theoretical astrophysicists work with and complement astronomers who conduct research primarily by observations or experiments. In the final chapter, Davies presents the case that what we call the Kuiper Belt is misnamed, because it had been first predicted in the 1940s by Kenneth Edgeworth (whereas Gerrit Kuiper did not publish anything on the topic until 1951).

I would recommend the first half of the book (and Chapter 12) to anyone who enjoyed Dava Sobel's The Planets. Chapters 6 to 10 are more technical. Chapter 11 discusses the precursor of New Horizons, then known as Pluto Kuiper Express.

[Didier "Dirac Ghost" Gaulin · Rating 1 out of 5]

A few interesting chapters, rather informal and heavy on various cosmologists history which was not what I was looking for.