Book Review: Pluto Confidential

Books on controversial issues are usually written by writers representing one side of the issue in question. What sets Pluto Confidential apart is that it is co-authored by two astronomers representing opposing views in the Pluto debate. This makes it an ideal teaching tool and overview of the debate for those seeking a solid, un-biased background on this issue.The two astronomers who wrote this book have been and still are insiders in the planet definition debate. Dr. Laurence Marschall, the W.K.T. Sahm Professor of Physics at Gettysburg College, is one of the 424 IAU members who voted in Prague, where he supported the current IAU definition. Dr. Stephen P. Maran, who spent 35 years working for NASA, worked on the Hubble Space Telescope, and is now press officer for the American Astronomical Society, opposes the IAU definition and supports planetary status for Pluto specifically and dwarf planets in general.Thus the word “confidential” in the title refers to the authors’ actual participation in the planet definition controversy, with firsthand experience of the political and scientific exchanges that took place in the inner circles of the astronomy community.For newcomers to this issue and for those already interested in it and seeking to ...