PLUTO AND CHARON - ICE WORLDS ON THE RAGGED EDGE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM 2E

The exploration of the ninth planet, Pluto, its moon, Charon, and their relationship to the newly discovered Kuiper Belt, is a tale of perseverance, ingenuity and dedication on the part of the planetary scientists who have been lured by the fascination of these far-flung miniature worlds. In Pluto and Charon, Alan Stern and Jacqueline Mitton turn that story into an entertaining adventure, starting with the discovery of Pluto by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. In a highly accessible narrative, they bring to life the many 'Plutophiles', who with skill and resourcefulness have pieced together over several decades an amazingly detailed picture of the nature of Pluto and Charon. The book also documents vividly the struggle by Plutophiles and the public to persuade NASA to fund a mission to Pluto, the only planet not yet explored from close proximity by a spacecraft. Hopes were alternately raised and dashed before eventual victory. At last, New Horizons (led by author Stern as Principal Investigator) is due to be launched in early 2006 on a 9-year journey to Pluto, Charon and beyond. For this second edition, Stern and Mitton have brought their 1998 book fully up to date, including the latest discoveries about Pluto's ancient relationship with the members of the Kuiper Belt of icy bodies and dwarf planets beyond Neptune. They have also added a completely new chapter on the New Horizons mission.

S. ALAN STERN, PhD, is a planetary scientist and astrophysicist with both observational and theoretical interests. Dr Stern is a pilot, a former NASA F-18 and WB-57 flight astronomer, and a principal and experienced research investigator in NASA's planetary research program. He was a finalist candidate to become a NASA Space Shuttle mission specialist. He is the Director of the Department of Space Studies of the Southwest Research Institute; the department is located in Boulder, Colorado. Dr Stern has published more than 170 technical papers and 30 popular articles. His research has primarily focused on studies of the satellites of the outer planets, Pluto, comets, the Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt, and the formation and evolution of the outer solar system. Dr Stern has led instrument teams for several NASA planetary missions, for the Space Shuttle, and for airborne and suborbital rocket expeditions as well. He is the Principal Investigator of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.


JACQUELINE MITTON, PhD, lives in Cambridge, England and works as a writer and editor. She trained as an astronomer at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and has for many years concentrated on bringing astronomy to the general public. For 15 years she was Press Officer for the Royal Astronomical Society, making frequent contributions to radio and TV programs. She writes for both children and adults and has 23 previous books to her credit. Her recent titles include 'Once Upon a Starry Night' and 'Zodiac', (both for children), 'Lifting Titan's Veil' and 'The Cambridge Dictionary of Astronomy'.

Preface to the Second Edition.

Preface to the First Edition.

Prologue: Encounter!

1. New Frontier.

A Planet Hunt.

“Young Man, I Am Afraid You Are Wasting Your Time.”

“That’s It!”

But What to Call It?

Pathways of the Gods.

Empty of Empties.

It’s a Rogue!

2. First Facts.

The Dark Ages.

Shimmer, Little Planet.

The Pulse of a Planet’s Brightness.

A Cockeyed World.

Reading the Rainbow.

Pluto’s Own Signature.

A Rose, By Any Other Name.

Fellow Traveler.

Harvest: 1978.

3. A Distant Dance.

The Gift of a Swede.

The Dance, Dissected.

Searching for Shadows.

Tally Ho Shadow!

Glimpsing the Treasure Trove.

When Seconds Equal Centimeters: Measuring Pluto’s Size.

Bounty.

He and She.

The Face of Pluto.

4. The Importance of Snow.

The Low Roads.

A Clean Machine: The Road Less Trveled.

The High Road, At Last.

Mining the Occulation Data.

Smoke? Or Mirrors?

Taking Pluto’s Temperature.

Something So Familiar.

Hot Spots on a Cold World.

The Fate of Pluto’s Atmosphere: Future Tense.

5. Building a Binary Planet.

A Grand Design.

Before.

Building Planets from Plantetesimals.

Winds of Change.

Mother Violence.

A Misfit’s Role.

The Faint Smell of a Fish.

Big Bangs.

Lost Flock.

6. Ice Fields and Ice Dwarfs.

Where Have All the Pluto’s Gone?

The Edge.

The Hunters.

Enter Smiley.

Pluto’s Kin.

Meet the Plutinos.

The Meaning of Missing Mass.

Hindsight 20/20: Lo, the Misfit Fits.

7. Everest.

Cradle Vista.

An Ornament Against the Deep.

On Being There.

A Gathering, a Start.

Manna, From Triton.

First Ascent.

Tick, Tick, Tick.

Onward, Upward.

Form and Function Combined.

Some Trouble with the Ticket.

Expresso.

8. New Horizons.

A Final Faltering.

We Are the Undead.

A Reincarnation.

The Undead Never Blink.

New Horizons, Indeed.

Light My Fire.

9. Where No One Has Gone Before.

Then I Saw Her Face.

Appendix: A Chronology of Major Events in the Exploration of Pluto.

Notes.

Index.