A Brief History of the Solar System (and Why Pluto Got “Demoted”)
A talk by Dr. Adam Rengstorf, Purdue University Calumet
Friday, May 1, 7:30 pm in Neils Science Center 224
Many of us remember memorizing in elementary school an acronym for the names of the nine planets (My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas). For better or worse, this listing is no longer the case. With the formal definition of a planet by the International Astronomical Union in August of 2006, Earth is now one of eight planets in our solar system, with Pluto reclassified. I will present a brief overview of the solar system with an eye towards how and when the planets were discovered, when and why planets have been demoted (yes, it’s happened more than once), and the necessity and appropriateness of the official IAU definition.
8:30-9:30 Telescope viewing at VU Observatory ( or Planetarium show in NSC if cloudy)
Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.