EPISODE · Feb 2, 2016 · 19 MIN
Starts With A Bang #4: The story of Pluto and Charon
from Starts With A Bang podcast · host Ethan Siegel
In 1930, Clyde Tombaugh serendipitously discovered Pluto: the first object in our Solar System out past Neptune. For 48 years, it was the only object known out there, until Charon -- its giant moon -- was discovered. But the 1990s brought with it a slew of Kuiper Belt objects, and in 2006, Pluto was officially demoted to a "dwarf planet." But also in 2006, NASA's New Horizons mission was launched: the first dedicated mission to the outer Solar System. In 2015, it flew by both Pluto and Charon, discovering two vastly different worlds. Here's what we've learned.
What this episode covers
In 1930, Clyde Tombaugh serendipitously discovered Pluto: the first object in our Solar System out past Neptune. For 48 years, it was the only object known out there, until Charon -- its giant moon -- was discovered. But the 1990s brought with it a slew of Kuiper Belt objects, and in 2006, Pluto was officially demoted to a "dwarf planet." But also in 2006, NASA's New Horizons mission was launched: the first dedicated mission to the outer Solar System. In 2015, it flew by both Pluto and Charon, discovering two vastly different worlds. Here's what we've learned.
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Starts With A Bang #4: The story of Pluto and Charon
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