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Michael E. Brown

File:Mike_Brown_Caltech_2021_01.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Michael E. Brown

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Also known as Brown, M. E., Brown M. E., Mike Brown, Michael Edwards Brown, Michael Brown, M.E. Brown, M. E. Brown, M E Brown

American planetary astronomer

Person · Open Library

Born
1959-10-29
Works
46

Top works

  • The Rise of China (International Security Readers)
  • Gender and Security Agenda
  • Offense, Defense, and War
  • Ethnic Conflict and International Security
  • Grave New World

via Open Library + Wikidata

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Quotes

  • I may go down in history as the guy who killed Pluto.

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Key facts

Born
( 1965-06-05 ) June 5, 1965 (age 60) , Huntsville, Alabama , U.S.
Education
Princeton University ( AB ) , UC Berkeley ( MA , PhD )
Known for
Discovery of Eris and other trans-Neptunian objects , How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming
Spouse
Diane Binney ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 2003-03-01</span>"}]]}'>2003 ) ​
Fields
Planetary astronomy
Doctoral students
Chad Trujillo , Marc Kuchner , Megan Schwamb , Konstantin Batygin
Website
mikebrown .caltech .edu

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Michael E Brown 1.jpg
Show 4 more facts
date of birth
1965-06-05
official blog URL
www.mikebrownsplanets.com
social media followers
1921
Commons category
Michael E. Brown
Sources (10)

via Wikidata · CC0

~7 min read

Article

Michael E. Brown (born June 5, 1965) is an American astronomer, who has been professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2003. His team has discovered many trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), including the dwarf planet Eris, which was originally thought to be bigger than Pluto, triggering a debate on the definition of a planet.

He has been referred to by himself and by others as the man who "killed Pluto", because he furthered Pluto's being downgraded to a dwarf planet in the aftermath of his discovery of Eris and several other probable trans-Neptunian dwarf planets. He is the author of How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming, published in 2010. He was awarded the Kavli Prize (shared with Jane Luu and David C. Jewitt) in 2012 "for discovering and characterizing the Kuiper belt and its largest members, work that led to a major advance in the understanding of the history of our planetary system."

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