Michael E. Brown

thumb|right| I may go down in history as the guy who killed Pluto. Michael E. Brown (born 5 June 1965) has been a professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2003. His study of the minor planet 2003 UB313 led to new discussion about the classification of the planets, as this new object was both further away and larger than Pluto. Quotes I may go down in history as the guy who killed Pluto. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060824/ap_on_sc/planet_mutiny Dinky Pluto loses its status as planet authorKole, William J. Associated Press 2006-08-24 2006-08-28 The name [Sedna] was a hit. I was surprised to discover that a good name with an interesting story behind it could lead people to have an emotional connection with an unseen object in space, though perhaps it shouldn’t have been such a revelation to me, given people’s attachment to Pluto. Quaoar never really caught on, but Sedna struck a nerve. Newspaper headlines proclaimed, “Welcome Sedna!” My mailbox began to be flooded with drawings from schoolkids who crayoned in nice red Sedna in the solar system right after Pluto. Astrologers quickly hit on the story of Sedna to declare that Sedna would herald a new feminine influence over environmental stewardship. Or awareness of child abuse. Though none of the astrologers agreed with one another, they certainly found the name and the story compelling. Michael E. Brown in: How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming, Random House Publishing Group. p. 105 External links Brown's homepage at CalTech Category:People from Alabama Category:Astronomers from the United States Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:Princeton University alumni Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:California Institute of Technology faculty