CHARON °"tfy, °SgedEdge S? ofthe Solar ALAN STERN JACQUELINE MITTON Pluto and Charon explores the remote, ice- bound reaches of our planetary system in an interwoven tale of exotic Pluto, its unusual satellite companion Charon, and the dynamic, high-technology world of twentieth-century astronomy. Astronomers Alan Stern and Jacqueline Mitton recount a story ofplanetary astronomy at its fron- tier. The book begins with a description of the dramatic discovery of Pluto by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930, and continues through to the latest images of Pluto taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, and the effort to build Pluto Express, a NASA reconnais- sance mission to the only planet not yet visited by spacecraft. Stern and Mitton vividly presentthe major events in the discovery and exploration of the distant Pluto-Charon and introduce the reader to the researchers whose inge- nuity and determination opened up the outer solar system for all to appreciate. Their light and accessible narrative trans- forms our view ofPluto and Charon from the vague awareness ofa faint pinprick of light slowly moving against the constella- tions into a richer appreciation for a pair of ice worlds with an astonishingly wide range of remarkable attributes. So too, as Stern and Mitton describe, astronomers have evolved their view of Pluto from a planetary footnote to the gateway to the deep outer solar system. Three themes thread this new book. The first concerns the advances made possible by dramatic improvements in ground- based astronomical instrumentation. Second is the revolution in scientific perspective wrought by spacecraft visits to the planets. Stern and Mitton's third theme concerns the cultural revolution that has taken place as humans, born and bred on Earth, have come to know exotic and far distant worlds as real places. (continued on backflap) AND PLUTO CHARON AND PLUTO CHARON Ice Worlds on the Ragged Edge of the Solar System ALAN STERN JACQUELINE MITTON A Wiley-lnterscience Publication JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. NewYork • Chichester • Weinheim • Brisbane • Singapore • Toronto This textisprinted on acid-freepaper©. Copyright © 1998byJohnWiley & Sons, Inc. Allrightsreserved. Publishedsimultaneouslyin Canada. No partofthispublication maybereproduced, storedin aretrievalsystem or transmitted inanyformorbyanymeans, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanningorotherwise, exceptaspermittedunderSections 107 or 108 of the 1976UnitedStates CopyrightAct, withoutwitherthepriorwrittenpermission of the Publisher, orauthorization throughpayment ofthe appropriateper-copyfee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA01923, (508) 750-8400, fax (508) 750-4744. Requests to the Publisher forpermissionshouldbe & addressed to the Permissions Department,JohnWiley Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, NewYork, NY 10158-0012, (212) 850-6011, fax (212) 850-6008, E-Mail: [email protected]. Library ofCongress CataloginginPublicationData: Stern,Alan, 1957- Pluto and Charon: IceWorlds on the Ragged Edge ofthe Solar System/byAlanStern,JacquelineMitton. p. cm. • Includesbibliographical referencesandindex. ISBN 0-471-15297-8 (cloth alk. paper) : 1. Atomic absorptionspectroscopy. 2. Environmental monitoring. I. Pluto (Planet) 2. Charon (Satellite) I. Mitton,Jacqueline. II. Title. QB701.S84 1998 523.48'2—dc21 96-9502 CIP Printedin theUnitedStatesofAmerica 98765432 10 To Sarah and Kate, Sistersfor a new century. — Alan Stern