People, Americans especially, have a love relationship with Pluto that borders on the bizarre. Sure, it was discovered by an American, and we like to be proud of our own, but there's not much (that we know of) that's particularly interesting about this celestial body other than the fact there's a Disney dog with the same name. And yet, when Pluto was demoted to the status of a dwarf planet, the general public, politicians and even children started protesting...In the following documentary, Neil deGrasse Tyson traces the history leading up to the discovery of this controversial object and explains some of the points of contention that have divided astronomers trying to decide how exactly to define what it means for something to be a planet.
The best part by far, however, is the very moving and admirable story of Clyde Tombaugh, the humble man who fulfilled Percival Lowell's dream of discovering "Planet X" and gave us Pluto.
For my international friends who can't watch Hulu, see if this will work:
Watch the full episode. See more NOVA.
And that stained glass is just excellent...
Check out more documentaries, more space stuff, or more of Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
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