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Planetarium


What Happened to Pluto?

In August 2006, the International Astronomical Union wrote a definition for "planet": a sphere orbiting the Sun that has cleared its neighborhood of debris. Although Pluto is relatively round and orbits the Sun, it's also part of the Kuiper Belt, a band of frigid chunks where Pluto isn't even the biggest object on the block. By defining a planet for the first time, the union cut Pluto from the nine-planet solar system that had been a fundamental part of our science education for so long.

In this new Planetarium show, get a sense of what it's like to be an astronomer searching for undiscovered space objects. Gain an understanding of why Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet, and follow NASA's New Horizons spacecraft as it embarks on the long journey to study Pluto more closely than ever before.

Format Planetarium Show
Grades 3 – Adult
Author n/a
Source/Publisher n/a
Location Planetarium — Museum of Science, Boston
Website n/a
Duration 50 minutes
Reservation Required at least two weeks in advance
Fee $3 per person with Museum Exhibit Halls admission; $6 per person for Planetarium only
Capacity 234
Related Links Press release

What Happened to Pluto?

Evaluated on n/a

% STL standards met
/4 Usability score
/4 Educator Support Score

Comments:

What Happened to Pluto?

Schedules

Remaining seats appear in parenthesis after event time.

November 21, 2009: 11:30 am (234) , 3:30 pm (234)
November 22, 2009: 11:30 am (234) , 3:30 pm (228)
November 23, 2009: 10:00 am (0)
November 24, 2009: 12:00 pm (55)
November 27, 2009: 11:30 am (230) , 3:30 pm (229)
November 28, 2009: 11:30 am (234) , 3:30 pm (234)
November 29, 2009: 11:30 am (234) , 3:30 pm (234)
December 1, 2009: 12:00 pm (225)
December 5, 2009: 11:30 am (234) , 3:30 pm (232)
December 6, 2009: 11:30 am (234) , 3:30 pm (234)
December 8, 2009: 12:00 pm (225)
December 12, 2009: 11:30 am (234) , 3:30 pm (234)
December 13, 2009: 11:30 am (234) , 3:30 pm (234)
December 14, 2009: 10:00 am (161)
December 15, 2009: 12:00 pm (225)
December 19, 2009: 11:30 am (234) , 3:30 pm (234)
December 20, 2009: 11:30 am (234) , 3:30 pm (234)

View full schedule.

What Happened to Pluto?

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