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| Sunday, 27 February 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Pluto : Still a mystery after 75 years!
Pluto the ninth planet in the solar system was spotted on February 18, 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, a young amateur astronomer at Lowell Observatory. Pluto was discovered in a search for a theoretical ninth planet. Twenty six year-old Tombaugh was given the assignment. Had he not been so attentive, he might have missed Pluto as he stared through an eyepiece, while switching back and forth between photographic images of the night sky over northern Arizona. But he believed right away that the recurring speck he saw was the elusive Planet X, later called Pluto. Generations of schoolchildren grew up memorising the solar system charts that included Pluto. But shortly after Tombaugh died in 1997, some astronomers suggested that the International Astronomical Union, a professional astronomers group, should demote the tiniest planet. At the time it was discovered, Pluto was the only known object beyond Neptune in the solar system. When its moon, Charon, was spotted, that seemingly confirmed Pluto's planet status. But astronomers also have found about 1,000 other small icy objects beyond Neptune rotating around the Sun. Pluto, with its elongated orbit and odd orbital plane, seems to behave more like other Kuiper Belt objects, than other planets, some astronomers say. They also point out Pluto is very small, smaller than Earth's moon. Complicating the debate is that, there is no official definition for a planet. Setting standards like size limits or orbital patterns potentially invites other objects to take the "planet" label, while throwing Pluto out. Courtesy: Associated Press ############# US Space Shuttle gearing for operations
Heads of the five space agencies building the station, United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada recently confirmed that they were confident the station's assembly would be completed by the end of the decade. Shuttle activities of the station was shut down for more than two years since the February 1, 2003, Columbia accident. According to NASA modifying the remaining shuttle fleet has already cost NASA about $1.5 billion. Europe and Japan are still awaiting launches for their respective main space station laboratories, a job for which the shuttle is needed. NASA will use its station experience in developing its space exploration programme, which focuses on the Moon and Mars, rather than on low Earth orbit. The station is useful as a laboratory for longer-range space exploration. But NASA officials say any manned missions to Mars could occur only after continued extensive work in low Earth orbit on facilities including the international space station. Courtesy: NASA |
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| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
Did you know that it's been 75 years since the discovery of Pluto? The
significance of this 'little planet' is that it still remains a mystery.
According to experts, perhaps in another 10 years some of its secrets will
be revealed when a space probe gets close enough for a good look.
NASA will return the U.S. Space Shuttle to flight this year with test
launches, and resume assembly of the orbital complex starting with a
shuttle flight in December.
