Professor of Planetary Astronomy, California Institute of Technology
Assistant Professor of Planetary Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology and author of How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming; discoverer of 2003 UB313, also known as 'Xena'
Move Over Pluto, Astronomers Say There's a New Planet in Town Ten years ago, astronomer’s shrunk the solar system by removing Pluto from the list of real planets. Now the solar system is getting bigger again. Artistic rendering of the distant view from Planet Nine back towards the sun. The planet is thought to be gaseous, similar to Uranus and Neptune. Image: Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC) In the latest issue of Astronomical Journal astronomers from Caltech in Pasadena describe a massive object called Planet Nine, orbiting even farther away from the Sun than the former planet called Pluto. One author of today's article is Mike Brown, who also wrote the book How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming . Caltech professor Mike Brown and assistant professor Konstanin Batygin Photo: Lance Hayashida/Caltech
Pluto Demoted Last year, astronomers at Cal Tech discovered an object they called Xena--even bigger than Pluto, and also orbiting around the Sun. That set off an astronomical controversy. Are there really 10 planets? Today, the International Astronomical Union said, "No." Xena isn't a planet at all, and neither is Pluto. Planetary astronomer Mike Brown led the CalTech team that discovered Xena . (An extended discussion on this subject was originally aired earlier today on To the Point.)
Pluto, Planet or Plan Not? Since Pluto's discovery in 1930, there have been nine planets in the solar system, but a year ago, scientists at the California Institute of Technology said there were ten. An object they called Xena turned out to be bigger than Pluto and was also orbiting around the Sun. That set off an astronomical controversy that wasn't resolved until today, thanks to the International Astronomical Union . Planetary scientist Mike Brown led the Cal Tech Team that discovered Xena.
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
