Discovering Pluto

Exploration at the Edge of the Solar System

Dale P. Cruikshank (Author), William Sheehan (Author)
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Discovering Pluto is an authoritative account of the exploration of Pluto and its moons, from the first inklings of tentative knowledge through the exciting discoveries made during the flyby of the NASA New Horizons research spacecraft in July 2015. Co-author Dale P. Cruikshank was a co-investigator on the New Horizons mission, while co-author William Sheehan is a noted historian of the Solar System.

Telling the tale of Pluto’s discovery, the authors recount the grand story of our unfolding knowledge of the outer Solar System, from William Herschel’s serendipitous discovery of Uranus in 1781, to the mathematical prediction of Neptune’s existence, to Percival Lowell’s studies of the wayward motions of those giant planets leading to his prediction of another world farther out. Lowell’s efforts led to Clyde Tombaugh’s heroic search and discovery of Pluto—then a mere speck in the telescope—at Lowell Observatory in 1930.

Pluto was finally recognized as the premier body in the Kuiper Belt, the so-called third zone of our Solar System. The first zone contains the terrestrial planets (Mercury through Mars) and the asteroid belt; the second, the gas-giant planets Jupiter through Neptune. The third zone, holding Pluto and the rest of the Kuiper Belt, is the largest and most populous region of the solar system.

Now well beyond Pluto, New Horizons will continue to wend its lonely way through the galaxy, but it is still transmitting data, even today. Its ultimate legacy may be to inspire future generations to uncover more secrets of Pluto, the Solar System, and the Universe.

"All in all, this should be on your office bookshelf as an ideal resource to answer questions that the public still have about Pluto, as their interest in this fascinating body has increased since its untimely and controversial demotion."—April S. Whitt, Fernbank Science Center

“Cruikshank and Sheehandescribe marvelously the dispute between Adams and Le Verrier over credit for the discovery of Neptune.”—Priyamvada Natarajan, The New York Review of Books

Discovering Pluto is a beautiful book that will delight anyone interested in the Solar System.”—Sky at Night Magazine

“This authoritative, well-illustrated, and thoroughly-referenced book will be the ‘go-to’ tome for anyone interested in [Pluto] for many years to come.”—The Observatory Magazine

Discovering Pluto offers the backstory of the explorations of our solar system’s most remote regions…offering deeper tones, scientific details that can be savored more slowly.”—Wall Street Journal

“This superb and timely book covers not only the New Horizons mission and its results, but also places the discovery of Pluto and the New Horizons mission in historical context, beginning with the discovery of Uranus in 1781.”—Society for the History of Astronomy Bulletin

“A comprehensive and authoritative account of the exploration of Pluto and its moons, providing a ringside seat to the exciting discoveries made during the New Horizons flyby. Here in one place is everything you need to know about the Plutonian system.”—Bonnie J. Buratti, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
 
Discovering Pluto offers a rare insider’s view, spanning the modern history of planetary science from early telescopic observations through the recent spectacular New Horizons flyby of Pluto.”—Keith Noll, Planetary Scientist
Discovering Pluto
504 Pages 6 x 9
Published: January 2019Paperback ISBN: 9780816539383
Published: February 2018Ebook ISBN: 9780816538317

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