Educational Media Reviews Online

Neil deGrasse Tyson, honored and respected academic (holds a doctorate in astrophysics from Columbia University, the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, and has served on the 2001 Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry and the 2004 Commission on Moon, Mars, and Beyond) is engaging and genuine in this well written and produced documentary chronicling the reclassification of Pluto from the ninth planet in our solar system to a dwarf planet or plutoid. The DVD is based on the book by Tyson entitled, The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet.

The story of Pluto’s reclassification begins at the American Museum of Natural History’s, Hayden Planetarium where the display of planets excluding Pluto made front page news in the New York Times on January 22, 2001. The planetarium director, Neil deGrasse Tyson, begins his story there at the display which garnered public outcry as well as letters from school children and parents alike about the demise of their favorite planet.

From here, the viewer is taken on a road trip from Boston to California covering all the important elements of this story and thus the title, The Pluto Files. Tyson is formidable in his role as science sleuth and enables the viewer to experience a sense of discovery about Pluto as well as how science works. Tyson begins on the Harvard football field where a visual comparison of the planets leads to a debate amongst prominent scientists about Pluto’s planet status. Then it’s off to the Illinois hometown of the farm boy, Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930. An additional stop in New Mexico allows for an opportunity to talk with Clyde’s surviving family and see his homemade telescopes. Next stop is the Walt Disney studios where in 1931 the dog Pluto was born. And the final stop is to a California barbeque to meet the astrophysicists who discovered the Kuiper belt and other “Pluto like” icy rocks at the edge of the solar system. It was this discovery in 2005 which initially led to the decision of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to define the concept of planet such that Pluto no longer belonged. At each stop the viewer learns more about the solar system and the science undergirding Pluto’s reclassification.

Highly recommended, this 56-minute documentary is well paced, holding viewers’ attention. The cinematography is excellent. Scientific concepts are explained well with the use of comparative illustration or contextualization. Interviews and discussions with persons involved in doing the actual science make this an excellent tool for explaining the way the scientific method works. It also helps humanize the process of science and the reclassification of the popular planet.

Neil deGrasse Tyson has sometimes been referred to as “Saganesque” because of his ability to popularize concepts in science making them understandable and engaging. The praise is appropriate and documented here. The NOVA series website coincides with the film for additional information. Tyson maintains a blog and website at the Hayden Planetarium. In addition, follow the continuing story of Pluto with the New Horizons Mission, an unmanned NASA probe, due to arrive in 2020 to study Pluto and other objects in the Kuiper belt.