Beyond Pluto
Exploring the Outer Limits of the Solar System

An engaging story of modern scientific discovery: exploring the frozen frontier of our solar system.

John Davies (Author)

9781107402614, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 24 November 2011

242 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.3 cm, 0.33 kg

Review of the hardback: '… an immensely enjoyable read.' Simon Green, The Observatory

In the ten years preceding publication, the known solar system more than doubled in size. For the first time in almost two centuries an entirely new population of planetary objects was found. This 'Kuiper Belt' of minor planets beyond Neptune revolutionised our understanding of the solar system's formation and finally explained the origin of the enigmatic outer planet Pluto. This is the fascinating story of how theoretical physicists decided that there must be a population of unknown bodies beyond Neptune and how a small band of astronomers set out to find them. What they discovered was a family of ancient planetesimals whose orbits and physical properties were far more complicated than anyone expected. We follow the story of this discovery, and see how astronomers, theoretical physicists and one incredibly dedicated amateur observer came together to explore the frozen boundary of the solar system.

Prologue
1. Towards the edge of the solar system
2. The centaurs
3. The mystery of the short period comets
4. Shooting in the dark
5. Deeper and deeper
6. Sorting out the dynamics
7. What are little planets made of?
8. Numbers and sizes
9. Things that go bump in the dark
10. Dust and disks
11. Where do we go from here?
12. Will we ever get our names right?
Appendix
Index.

Subject Areas: Astronomy, space & time [PG]