One of the interesting aspects (out of many) about my writing and research work on the exhibit project for Griffith Observatory is realizing (again) how quickly things change in astronomy. Just when I think I can say something with great certainty about a celestial object or process, a discovery comes along that shifts the landscape of “what is known.”

Take the announcement I got tonight about the discovery of what is likely the 10th planet in our solar system. Astronomers Mike Brown of California Institute of Technology, Chad Trujillo of Gemini Observatory in Hawaii, and David Rabinowitz of Yale University in Connecticut used the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory to spot a Kuiper Belt object in the outer realms of the solar system that is definitely larger than Pluto (currently the 9th planet of the solar system). Now, anybody who’s had their ear to the ground lately has heard a number of conjectures about Pluto and the rest of the KBOs (as they’re called). Some folks think that Pluto is merely a planetoid, and doesn’t deserve the name “planet.” Others maintain Pluto’s a planet, and I count myself among them.

There is NO doubt, however, that there are large objects out in the Kuiper Belt, which is a region of space populated by objects like Pluto (some larger, some smaller), most of which date back to the earliest epochs of our solar system’s existence. Astronomers are actively searching out these objects and trying to understand them. By studying them, we may find out more about the composition of the cloud of gas and dust from which all the planets, moons, rings, asteroids, and comets formed more than four billion years ago.

So, does this change what I write for the exhibition about the Kuiper Belt, Pluto, and our solar system? An excellent question. I’m sure our discussions about this information will be interesting, indeed!