鈥淵OUNG man, I am afraid you are wasting your time 鈥� if there were any more planets they would have been found long before this,鈥� was told in 1929. This was both right and wrong: a year later Tombaugh discovered Pluto but, famously, it was demoted to 鈥渄warf planet鈥� status in 2006.
The story of the discovery of Pluto and its fellow Kuiper belt objects is told here by science writer and New 杏吧原创 contributor . He travelled the world to interview all the surviving protagonists, including Venetia Burney 鈥� the 11-year-old who suggested the name Pluto 鈥� and the band of dogged planet hunters who have found such bodies as Eris, Easter Bunny, Buffy and Santa (with its moons Rudolph and Blixen). And the search for Planet X is still on (see Is there a Planet X?).
This is a wonderfully entertaining book which conveys the raw excitement of a fast-developing field. I can鈥檛 wait to find what else is out there.
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Springer
