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    How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming
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    How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming
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    How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming
    Audiobook7 hours

    How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

    Written by Mike Brown

    Narrated by Ryan Gesell

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The solar system most of us grew up with included nine planets, with Mercury closest to the sun and Pluto at the outer edge. Then, in 2005, astronomer Mike Brown made the discovery of a lifetime: a tenth planet, Eris, slightly bigger than Pluto. But instead of its resulting in one more planet being added to our solar system, Brown's find ignited a firestorm of controversy that riled the usually sedate world of astronomy and launched him into the public eye. The debate culminated in the demotion of Pluto from real planet to the newly coined category of "dwarf" planet. Suddenly Brown was receiving hate mail from schoolchildren and being bombarded by TV reporters-all because of the discovery he had spent years searching for and a lifetime dreaming about.

    Filled with both humor and drama, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming is Mike Brown's engaging first-person account of the most tumultuous year in modern astronomy-which he inadvertently caused. As it guides readers through important scientific concepts and inspires us to think more deeply about our place in the cosmos, it is also an entertaining and enlightening personal story: While Brown sought to expand our understanding of the vast nature of space, his own life was changed in the most immediate, human ways by love, birth, and death. A heartfelt and personal perspective on the demotion of everyone's favorite farflung planet, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming is the book for anyone, young or old, who has ever dreamed of exploring the universe-and who among us hasn't?


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateDec 7, 2010
    ISBN9780307932693
    Unavailable
    How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

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    Reviews for How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      I've always found the planets and the solar system to be a mystery, but I love science so I love learning more. I certainly learned a lot from this book. I learned things I will probably forget in a short time, and things I will probably throw into conversations." Mike Brown is a pretty funny guy and I enjoyed the light-hearted manner in which he approached most things, and his ability to get serious when it was serious. I happen to agree with the eight planet model, but if you don't be prepared for a couple of rants. This was a very easy non-fiction read and I would recommend it if you are at all interested in our solar system.
    • 4/5
      Part memoir, part history, and a good bit of science. I enjoyed this story, and explanation of how Pluto lost its title of planet-hood. I already knew basically why Pluto was demoted, but the other history of planets, moons, and stars and various points of light that went through more than one identity was quite interesting. Also the process of how something is dubbed with a name and classification was new to me, since I'm not in that field.
    • 4/5
      I've always found the planets and the solar system to be a mystery, but I love science so I love learning more. I certainly learned a lot from this book. I learned things I will probably forget in a short time, and things I will probably throw into conversations." Mike Brown is a pretty funny guy and I enjoyed the light-hearted manner in which he approached most things, and his ability to get serious when it was serious. I happen to agree with the eight planet model, but if you don't be prepared for a couple of rants. This was a very easy non-fiction read and I would recommend it if you are at all interested in our solar system.
    • 5/5
      Great book! I love hearing about the behind-the-scenes day to day work that goes into discoveries, works of art, plays, tv shows, etc etc. I love logistics and details and what people were thinking when they made decisions. And this book fulfills that love - without being boring at all! Throw in some science, some math (don't worry, not scary!), even a drawing activity if you want to follow along, lots of insider info, lovely descriptions, personal details ... and you have a great read. Definitely a "can't put down" book for me, I stayed up until 3am one night reading this.

      I liked it so much I bought a copy for a present for someone. And I never buy books these days! That's a huge recommendation from me.
    • 4/5
      This is the first book on astronomy I've ever read. Mike Brown made the topic interesting and kept it from diving into a lot of boring detail. I wouldn't have expected a scientist to write this well for the general audience. I thought he spent a bit too much time on his family and personal life, but they were humorous diversions. The material was never dry. Brown highlights some of the bureaucracy of governing bodies of science (and the politics involved). He also makes the point that there is much of scientific definitions that really aren't "scientific" at all...
    • 4/5
      It was an interesting read, and an eye opener about astronomy, however at the middle of the book I have found the personal/ family stories a bit too wordy and long.
    • 5/5
      An immensely engaging and personable account of the death of Pluto that will make you care about astronomical bodies you've never even heard of before. I particularly love the insight into the motivations and methodology of astronomy.
    • 4/5
      Good, interesting read, though the definition of planet that includes 100s, kind of makes more sense to me than having just 8 important objects. It was more memoir like than I expected, with all the family stories, but they were cute.
    • 5/5
      This a great book for a lot of reasons. This little gem is an excellent description of a scientist involved in his research but it is also a wonderful meditation on dealing with work, the big things and the mundane things, and what happens when life brings to us a partner and, ultimately, a child. I enjoyed reading about Mike Brown the astronomer, but I also was moved when the astronomer realized he was falling in love and the additional joy that came with the birth of his daughter. The issue of Pluto and the Kuiper Belt objects is still not settled. But this is a well written story of how icy minor plants were discovered.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book. It is much more than informational. The writer is entertaining and the story involves more drama than you would expect.
    • 4/5
      I liked it. I read it in one night. I do wish he had included the final definition of a planet (that it 1) orbits the sun, 2) is basically round, and 3) has swept it's orbit free of independent bodies, iirc). I really can't think of anything fresh to say. If you're interested, try it - you will know early in whether it's your type of book or not.
    • 3/5
      This is a warm and personal book, which is perhaps a little unusual when it comes to writing about science. It's more a memoir than something focused on the science issues: all this makes it an accessible book for anyone, not just people who are really interested in astronomy. It's a little bit humorous, self-deprecating, while still rigorously explaining Mike Brown's methods and intentions.Given the personal angle, it's probably a little too light for anyone who is particularly knowledgeable about astronomy, but it is a pretty good read.
    • 4/5
      The guy whose team discovered Eris, a dwarf planet almost as large as - and more massive than - Pluto, argues for the declassification of Pluto as a planet. That's right, this guy argues himself out of the title of planet discoverer. And he makes a pretty good case. It's not as much about Pluto's size as it is about general definitions. If we say Pluto's a planet, then the Solar System technically has some 200 planets. The tilted and highly elliptical orbit don't help its case any either. After all, Ceres and the other larger asteroids were once called planets too, but no one is mourning them now. Beyond that discussion, though, what I found most fascinating was the description of how a lot of modern astronomy is done. There are millions of known objects in the sky; how do you know if you're seeing a new one? And how do you know where it is and what it's made of? What equipment and techniques do you use? Very cool stuff.
    • 5/5
      A great read. Before I read it I confess I felt sorry for Pluto, but after learning quite a bit in this fun, often downright humorous book, I have come to the conclusion that Pluto is now in its rightful place as a dwarf. Brown weaves a wonderful tale of intrigue, scientific scandal, love, family, and research all together to talk about how the discoveries of new objects at the far reaches of our solar system (Trans-Neptunian Objects) caused us to rethink exactly what a planet is and where Pluto fits into our understanding.
    • 5/5
      Even if you're not a astronomy nut like me [inside joke: You're moving to Schuamburg?] this book will shed light of the greatest controversy of our times, the demotion of Pluto. And I for one stand with Mike Brown that we should let science be science and emotional attachment not get in the way.
      Coming from a academic science background, Brown has a surprisingly easy style of writing. It never gets too technical or dry while staying informative and not "dumbed down." I also like how he created this timeline of scientific discovery and personal life events, meeting his wife, getting married, having their first child. It makes a nice balance and points out the real reason we explore and discover, to share with those who will come after us.
    • 4/5
      Pretty good book, although much more of a memoir than science, which is ok, but more touchy-feely than I would have preferred.
    • 4/5
      This book is precisely what I was looking for in a book about Pluto. It contains all the depth of information that The Pluto Files was missing but still had a narrative voice I enjoyed even more than either of the other books. From the story of the narrator’s experiences trying to write papers while becoming a parent (including being so tired he accidentally loaded the laundry machine with cat litter!) to his exasperation with the bickering scientific community, there was no shortage of moments which made me laugh. I also found the author’s argument that Pluto not be considered a planet the most convincing argument so far and I enjoyed following his thought process on the matter as a great example of the scientific process. I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a fun micro-history, to anyone looking to learn about the debate on Pluto, and to anyone wanting to learn about science or astronomy in general. A very enjoyable read.
    • 4/5
      Very readable, Mr. Brown makes hunting for planets sound interesting and exciting. He explains the controversy over Pluto in a very clear manner and makes his case convincingly. I also enjoyed how he intertwined parts of his personal life with his professional search for planets.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyable book for those who look up at the night time sky and wonder about the cosmos
    • 3/5
      3.0 starsBasically, nine plus one equals eight. Really? In the case of the discovery of the mythical tenth planet…yes! When in 2005, Cal Tech astronomer Mike Brown fulfilled his lifelong goal of finding Eris, a planet slightly larger than Pluto far off on the edge of the solar system, he had no idea the controversy that his discovery would spawn. Stanger yet, Brown was on the side of booting Pluto – along with Eris – out of the planet club. The result was that the normally passive world of astronomy became a hotbed of disagreement, outrage and anger over what really is a planet. How I Killed Pluto is far from the typical non-fictional fact-checking of scientific discovery. In fact, as a fan of scientific discovery, I found it a bit light on actual scientific content. Brown does a good job of detailing the processes he and his team used to find the objects that they discovered, but there was very little detail about the objects themselves. I’m not sure if this is because they just haven’t yet learned much about them, but I would have really liked to have learned more about these never before known objects on the fringe of our solar system. This is definitely intended to be a book for the masses. Brown takes on the hefty challenge of not allowing his book to become a dry, scientific paper by interweaving his own life events within the context of the narrative of discoveries. His is a quirky personality that shines through and makes the book at the very least a fun and sometimes funny read. His struggles as a new parent provide some of the biggest laughs.“Those early weeks were a blur. Like most new parents, I slept no more than two or three hours at the longest. How tired was I? One morning I piled a load of laundry into the washing machine, scooped a plastic cup of laundry detergent from the box, and poured it into the receptacle in the washing machine. The detergent filled the receptacle and then spilled over the edges. This had never happened before. I had never scooped out more detergent than could fit in the receptacle. I thought hard. I stared at the detergent. I stared at the object in my hand. It was not a small detergent scoop, but a big plastic cup. Why would there be a big plastic cup in the detergent box? I read the side of the detergent box, then it became clear that this was not detergent but kitty litter. I had just loaded the washing machine full of kitty litter. I pondered what would happen if I started the washing machine with the kitty litter inside – the clumping kind! – and then spent the next thirty minutes trying desperately to get every last bit of litter out of the machine. Then I went to get some sleep; I could do laundry later.” – pages 138-139.While the personal stories ground the scientific process in a more human tone, it creates a feel of two different stories being told on the same page. How I Killed Pluto, as its tongue-in-cheek title gives away, is more Vaudeville than Vanderbilt. This is not a comprehensive treaty on the state of modern astronomy as much as it is an entertaining biography of what it is to be a pioneering scientist with real world responsibilities and distractions. While not the sort of work that will bring people a deep and comprehensive understanding of the universe, it is highly readable and entertaining.
    • 4/5
      Interesting, and one picks up a bit of astronomy on the side. Good for the author.
    • 4/5
      Mike Brown is the discoverer of several smallish icy bodies out on the edge of the solar system, including three that have received a fair amount of attention: Quaoar, Sedna, and Eris (originally nicknamed Xena). That third one turned out to be slightly bigger than Pluto, thus precipitating the debate over astronomical definitions that eventually led to Pluto being downgraded from a planet to a mere "dwarf planet." Brown himself was a big advocate of "killing Pluto," despite the fact that it also meant losing the chance to be heralded as the only living discoverer of a planet. In this book he explains why, puts the concept of "planet" in scientific and historical context, and talks at length about his own discoveries and how they were made. The case he makes for the reclassification of Pluto is excellent, and he explains all the science involved in very clear, easy-to-understand terms, often with a dash of humor. His descriptions of his own research are also engaging and give the reader a good sense of how science is really done, complete with months of horrible tedium, moments of incredible excitement, and the occasional annoying controversy over who gets credit. And the way he ties together his professional and his personal life -- he proposed to his wife the same week Quaoar was discovered, and the existence of Eris was announced only three weeks after the birth of his daughter -- provides a nice touch of human interest. Definitely recommended to anyone interested in the subject.
    • 4/5
      Brief Description: If, like me, you never really understood why poor Pluto lost its planet-hood, this book by astronomer Mike Brown will explain it to you. After all, he is the one who helped “murder” Pluto with his discoveries of several rather large Kuiper Belt objects. If you think astronomy is a staid and unchanging science, this book will turn that assumption on its head as we learn how Brown’s discoveries led to intrigue, scandal and controversy … as well as murder (of Pluto’s planet-hood. Not an astronomer. It isn’t that controversial.)My Thoughts: I’ll admit that the title of this book was what ultimately convinced me to give it a try as it struck a note of humor that I look for in my scientific reading. Plus I’d never fully understood exactly WHY Pluto suddenly wasn’t a planet anymore and I wanted to know. The book was a truly enjoyable listen—full of gentle humor, plenty of science explained in a way that non-sciencey people (like myself) can understand, and enough personal stuff (Brown’s marriage and the birth of his first daughter) to balance out the astronomy stuff. Besides learning about the demise of Pluto (which I now wholeheartedly support), I very much enjoyed hearing about what an astronomer’s life is like (lots of trips to Hawaii), how statistics can be applied (rather amusingly) to the development of a newborn, and the fascinating system that exists for naming celestial objects. It was a pleasurable trip into a field I know virtually nothing about, and it inspired me to start paying closer attention to the nighttime skies. I listened to the audio version of this book, and it was a delight. Ryan Gesell did an excellent job capturing Brown’s humor, dedication and desire to educate the world about our solar system.
    • 5/5
      Mike Brown is an astronomer who searches for objects in the Kuiper Belt, beyond Pluto. When he found Eris, an object slightly larger than Pluto, the definition of a planet was called into question. In the end, Eris was not named the tenth planet. Instead, Pluto had its planet status revoked. And school children everywhere sent Mike Brown hate mail. But that's just the bare bones of the story. Mike Brown does a much better job of recounting Pluto's demise in this witty, engaging book. Along the way, we learn a lot about advances in astronomy, the process of naming objects in space, and the challenges of deciding when to announce a discovery. Because Mike welcomed his daughter Lilah about the time of his discovery, we also get some insight into his family life. (This is the part of the book that convinced me that Mike Brown is a good guy - definitely not deserving of the Pluto-related hate mail.) Even if you only have a causal interest in space, this is a book that is worth reading.
    • 5/5
      Did you learn the names of the planets with "My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas"? Here is the story of why our children will be learning about an excellent mother who serves Nachos instead. Mike Brown, with the care of a teacher, the passion of a scientist, and the voice of a friend whiling away the afternoon over a great cup of coffee, has written a delightful book that makes us understand both planetary astronomy and the hectic life of a career academic. Often I laughed aloud at his off-hand comments and very funny observations. Brown's delight in his work and his universe are matched by the interwoven story of his wife and daughter. I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone with a curiosity about our solar system.