Mike Brown: How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

Michael E. Brown (born June 5, 1965) has been a professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2003. His team has discovered many trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), notably the dwarf planet Eris, the only known TNO more massive than Pluto. He has humorously referred to himself as the man who killed Pluto. Source: Wikipedia. The book and author was recently the subject of a recent NPR show. On Weekend Edition Sunday, this was said about the book and author: Astronomer Mike Brown didn't mean to kill Pluto — or so he claims. Brown says the ex-ninth planet was just collateral damage in his search for the 10th. The story of that search — and the subsequent demotion of Pluto that raised the ire of elementary school students everywhere — is in his new book, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming. You can download the podcast to that NPR show here.

What Are The Challenges Of 'Trailblazing Mars'? from NPR Podcast Science Friday

What grows best in Martian soil? How do you get oxygen out of thin air? Pat Duggins, author of Trailblazing Mars: NASA’s Next Giant Leap, talks about the questions NASA will face if it sends astronauts to the Red Planet and how to choose the right people for the job.

Download the podcast here. See also: Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the VoidPacking for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, How to Live on Mars: A Trusty Guidebook to Surviving and Thriving on the Red Planet