Michael E. Brown is a professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. His 2012 book is called How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming.
Brown helped discover our solar system’s Kuiper Belt, which is similar to the asteroid belt, but contains up to 200 times more material.
In early 2016, Brown and a colleague – Konstantin Batygin, also at Caltech – described how the similar orbits of six small bodies in the outer solar system could be explained by another major planet in our solar system. They call it Planet Nine. And they’re still hoping to find it.
Bottom line: Cool astronomy livestream on Monday, July 14! EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd will be talking with astronomer Michael Brown, who calls himself “the man who killed Pluto.”
Our Editor-in-Chief Deborah Byrd works to keep all the astronomy balls in the air between EarthSky's website, YouTube page and social media platforms. She's the primary editor of our popular daily newsletter and a frequent host of EarthSky livestreams. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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