The rattlesnake is Arizona’s official state reptile, petrified wood is the state fossil, and the bola (or bolo) tie is the state neckwear. Now, if Arizona lawmaker Justin Wilmeth gets his way, Arizona will become the first state to boast an official planet: Pluto. Wilmeth, a republican state representative for District 15, introduced the bill into the House on Jan. 17. Last April, he was part of a legislative delegation that toured the construction site of Lowell Observatory’s … [Read more...] about Could Pluto Become Arizona’s State Planet?
Pluto
Festival of Science Exploring New Horizons with Pluto Mission Boss
Canyons, cliffs, mountains of ice and large crater-free regions have astronomers in awe as the New Horizons space mission brings Pluto, its moon Charon and the vast Kuiper Belt into focus. The latest images and information from the historic journey will be shared in the town where Pluto was discovered 85 years ago during the 2015 Flagstaff Festival of Science: Exploring New Horizons, Sept. 18-27. Pluto mission boss and planetary scientist Alan Stern, Ph.D., will kick off the free 10-day event … [Read more...] about Festival of Science Exploring New Horizons with Pluto Mission Boss
Pioneering Mission Bringing Outer Atmosphere Into Focus
It seems only fitting that the first clear image of our demoted planet, Pluto, revealed a giant heart-shaped geographic feature, as if to send a love note to Arizonans, where the distant icy world was discovered 85 years ago. During the third week of July, Lowell Observatory’s Will Grundy played a prominent role in the celebrated fly-by of Pluto by the New Horizons spacecraft. Grundy leads the mission’s surface composition team and balanced his time during this frenetic week between analyzing … [Read more...] about Pioneering Mission Bringing Outer Atmosphere Into Focus