Back when I was in fifth grade, I remember being sent to the 1st grade class room to offer an impromptu lesson on the planets of the solar system, which included Pluto at the time. I remember pulling a model out from under a sheet and going through each one individually. The Nine were the only planets known to me or anyone else that day. Today, astronomers have confirmed the existence of over a thousand different worlds orbiting hundreds of stars, with indications of yet several thousand more having been detected thanks to the Kepler Telescope (may she rest in peace) and awaiting analysis. Other planets outside our own system went from an unproven (though likely) hypothesis to a matter of *how many* planets each star in the sky is hosting on the average (currently 2, though that estimated average is likely to increase as time goes on and observation methods get better). My 11-year-old selfs mind is quite blown right now.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 01:08:12 +0000
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