Thursday, October 18, 2012

Thor's Day Hero: Mike Brown


Well it looks like Oppenheimer isn't the only scientist to be given the honor of serving in the ranks of the Thor's Day Heroes, say "Heya!" to Mike Brown. This is a cool entry because Mike Brown is a pretty regular guy. I mean, he's a scientist and planetary astronomer, but he doesn't wear a cape (that I know of) nor does he have super powers or the like.

He did kill a planet however, and we're not talking Superman-level, Crisis on Infinite Earths, cosmic doom, Mike Brown killed a planet in real life. In 2005 he actually thought he had discovered our solar system's tenth planet, Eris. Turns out Eris was bigger than Pluto, and since the definition of "planet" didn't quite fit Eris, it meant both it and its smaller cousin Pluto were to be demoted.

Honestly, I was surprised at all the uproar, it's science people, things change, that's how we move forward. I didn't look at it as losing a planet, I saw it as gaining eight more Dwarf planets. That's right, eight new Dwarf planets. With Eris and Pluto leading the Dwarf planet charge, there's all kinds of other candidates for Dwarf planethood waiting to officially be made part of our solar system family. So welcome to the Thor's Day Heroes SeƱor Brown!

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