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Cover of The Pluto Files by Neil deGrasse Tyson

The Pluto Files

Neil deGrasse Tyson

  • 208 pages · about 3 hours
  • First published 2009
  • 7 editions
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1 About this book

The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet is a book written by the astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson. The book is about Pluto, which was demoted to the status of dwarf planet in August 2006 by the International Astronomical Union, thereby depriving it of its planet-hood. The book also focuses on the fact that many Americans rallied their support for this icy dwarf on the edge of the Solar System because it was discovered by an American.

The book was given a good review by Jon Stewart in a guest segment with Tyson on The Daily Show. During the interview, Stewart humorously lauded the book as "the most exciting book about Pluto you will ever read in your life," as well as "the compelling story of how [Tyson] destroyed Pluto's life."

The book explains in full detail the journey of Pluto's life from its days as Planet X, to its discovery in the early 20th century and all the way to its current title as a Trans-Neptunian object.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Astronomy
  • Pluto

2 About Neil deGrasse Tyson

Born 1958

Neil deGrasse Tyson (US: də-GRASS; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University. In 1994, he joined the Hayden Planetarium as a staff scientist and the Princeton faculty as a visiting research scientist and lecturer.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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