Beyond Pluto: Exploring the outer limits of the Solar System by John Davies,
Cambridge University Press, 拢17.95, ISBN 0521800196
OUT THERE in the cold, dark outer disc of our planetary system a jumble of
objects is slowly orbiting the Sun. They鈥檙e too small to be planets, but they
aren鈥檛 moons either. They are called plutinos, after Pluto, the biggest of them
all. Pluto was discovered in 1930 and orbits the Sun twice for every three
orbits of Neptune.
A bunch of astronomers predicted that Pluto was not alone鈥擪enneth
Edgeworth in 1943, Gerard Kuiper in 1951 and Fred Whipple in 1964. They were
right, but it was only in September 1992 that the next occupant of the
trans-Neptunian region was found. Plutinos have been joined in their orbit by
classic Edgeworth-Kuiper asteroid belt members and scattered disc objects. All
have been discovered only relatively recently, and today we know of many dozens.
Much astronomical effort has gone into trying to unravel the physics and
chemistry of these bodies, as well as understanding their origin and
evolution.
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John Davies, a British professional astronomer working in Hawaii, is steeped
in the observational and theoretical intricacies of the field. Beyond
Pluto is a candid, detailed and well illustrated book that takes the
general reader on an intriguing journey to the far frontiers of astronomical
research.