What We're Reading

Is Pluto a Planet? A Historical Journey through the Solar System

Author: David A. Weintraub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
$27.95 Cloth (254 p.)
ISBN: 9780691123486
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Reviewed by David White, Customer Service Bibliographer

David Weintraub presents an engaging and accessible history of our solar system and the changing definition of "planet" as scientific theories evolved from the geocentric solar system postulated by Aristotle to the now-accepted heliocentric model.

The book is a wonderful history and summary of the many astronomical bodies that make up our solar system. Weintraub presents scientific theories in an accessible style - and yet provides that information in a comprehensive manner.

In response to the political wrangling and public outcry on this issue, he sums it up nicely:

"Making such a decision should not be an arbitrary activity. Is Pluto a planet? Is a scientific question, not a matter of public opinion or a decision to be made by NASA or a panel of distinguished astronomers. Science moves forward at a pace dictated by progress in understanding, not by fiat of a majority vote of a committee."

Weintraub continues:

"Our quest to answer the question Is Pluto a planet? Led us directly to a question about physics: What is a planet?"

And how we answer that latter question, will of course give us the answer to the first.

A wonderful read recommended for collections in Astronomy, general sciences and current topic reading collections.