I thoroughly loved this one. Once I picked it up I couldn’t put it down! It’s written from the heart combining a professional and passionate love of astronomy with a grounded appreciation of what really makes life important. Mike Brown recounts his lifetime ambition searching for a planet, alongside the deep intrigue of life in the astronomical community, its various stakeholders and simultaneously relates complex astrophysical principles in
Addressing the deeply cultural attachment to Pluto (as a planet) especially by American audiences raised on Disney’s character, Brown asks the vexing and contentious question: What is a planet? As the discoverer of Xenia, a dwarf planet similar to Pluto, he plays on the fact that his discovery (amongst other events) caused the IAU to debate the question and in the end demote Pluto from its position as the ninth planet of the solar system.
This was a read that was simply so engaging that it forced a one day read. I cannot recom