Question

In the preface to The Pluto files, what is Neil DeGrasse Tyson's viewpoint on the "planet" Pluto? What details does he use to support this point of view? Be sure to use specific details from the text to support your ideas and include an introductory sentence, precise language, a formal style, and a concluding statement

Answer 1

According to Tyson, the Hayden Planetarium project in 2000 presented Pluto for the first time not as a regular part of the Solar System (which is to say, as a number of planets), but according to its physical features. There were four "rocky, terrestrial objects", four "gas giants", and Pluto didn't belong to either of those groups. Instead, it was classified as an "icy object", along with many others. This was the turning point for the media, who interpreted this as stripping Pluto of its planetary status (and honor). The science was compelled to interfere, so that 6 years later, on an international conference, Pluto was proclaimed a dwarf planet, as a middle-ground solution. Tyson deals with the public attention that Pluto has received in the prior and following years.