{"id":3836,"date":"2026-05-03T18:47:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T18:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=3836"},"modified":"2026-05-03T18:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T18:55:14","slug":"ftv-spring-ps-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=3836","title":{"rendered":"FTV: Spring PS Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When the March 2026 Equinox edition of <\/span>The Planetary Report <\/span><\/i>(Vol. 46, No. 01) landed in my mail box, the cover image of Comet 67P\/Churyumov – Gerasimenko didn\u2019t give a hint as to the major announcement that was waiting on page 4.\u00a0 The image was taken by the European Space Agency\u2019s Rosetta spacecraft in 2015 and was accompanied by the teaser headline <\/span>Beyond the Planets:\u00a0 Comets and Kuiper Belt<\/span><\/i> Objects<\/span><\/i> which we will get to in a bit.\u00a0 The big news on page 4 informed the Planetary Society faithful that long time CEO Bill Nye (yes, the <\/span>Science Guy<\/span><\/i> Bill Nye) had stepped back from that role in February of 2026 after a 15 year tenure.\u00a0 Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Vaughn has slid seamlessly into the position but Nye assured all that he wasn\u2019t going to ride off into the sunset when there is so much important space exploration work still to be done.\u00a0 As for the rest of the issue, here are some of the interesting highlights:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Back in 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) declared that Pluto would no longer be called a planet.\u00a0 It was reclassified as a dwarf planet and the decision upset a lot of us who grew up in a solar system with nine planets orbiting the Sun.\u00a0 Kate Howells revisited the topic and I can now say the reclassification now makes more sense to me.\u00a0 As she pointed out, one will find our understanding of the solar system has made it necessary to redefine \u2018planets\u2019. The process started back with the ancient Greeks.\u00a0 In those days of early Greek astronomy, any object that moved against the fixed background of stars was called a \u2018planet\u2019 (a name meaning \u2018wanderer\u2019).\u00a0 To them, the planets included Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon\u2026but not the Earth.\u00a0 To them, the Earth was the stationary center of the Universe and everything revolved around us.\u00a0 I am guessing the human tendency to make everything \u2018all about us\u2019 isn\u2019t a new phenomenon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When the Sun-centered Copernican model was adopted, it placed the Sun in the middle of our Solar System and the Earth as one of the known objects orbiting it.\u00a0 This redefined planets as bodies that orbited the Sun, including the Earth.\u00a0 More members were added to the Sol family beginning with the discovery of Uranus in 1781.\u00a0 With better telescopes to scan the heavens, smaller objects orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter were found starting with Ceres in 1801.\u00a0 When astronomers discovered more objects in that belt like Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, they, too, were considered to be planets.\u00a0 As more and more of these objects came to light, the area was eventually redefined in the mid-19th century as the Asteroid Belt – an area dominated by minor planets.\u00a0 The next major addition to the list of major planets after Uranus was found came in 1846 when Neptune was first predicted mathematically, then finally observed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In 1930, a photographic plate confirmed the existence of a ninth planet – Pluto.\u00a0 Telescope resolution was not as advanced as it is today so the size of this fuzzy dot on film led to its size being overestimated.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t until 1978 that higher resolution photographs separated the image into two parts – Pluto and its co-orbiting companion Charon.\u00a0 Still, people were comfortable with calling it a planet, albeit, a small planet with a moon nearly as large as Pluto itself.\u00a0 When astronomers began finding more and more icy objects orbiting beyond Neptune, they dubbed the area the Kuiper Belt and noted that Pluto obviously belonged to this population (just as Ceres was a member of the Asteroid Belt).\u00a0 With the discovery of Eris, another Kuiper Belt body similar in size to Pluto, it compelled the IAU to redefine \u2018planet\u2019 once again rather than begin adding many more Pluto-sized planets to the family tree.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The IAU decided that a planet needed to meet three qualifications.\u00a0 First, the object must orbit the Sun.\u00a0 Second, it must be massive enough for its gravity to pull it into a spherical shape.\u00a0 Third, its mass must be sufficient to have cleared its orbit of all other objects, making it the dominant body in that area.\u00a0 Pluto met the first two requirements, but not the third.\u00a0 With this explanation, I finally understand the logic of what the IAU did in 2006.\u00a0 Personally, I would have liked to see them classify all similar sized objects as \u2018Plutons\u2019 as a nod to Pluto\u2019s long history of being called a planet, but I am also not a voting member of the IAU.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As Howells noted:\u00a0 \u201cThe decision sparked debate that continues today.\u00a0 But the IAU\u2019s definition doesn\u2019t limit what\u2019s worth studying.\u00a0 The worlds of the Cosmos are all fascinating\u00a0 regardless of size.\u201d\u00a0 Not to mention, we are still learning a lot about the objects we already know about while we continue to discover new members of the Sol family.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One of the Planetary Society\u2019s prime missions is fundraising to support NASA\u2019s programs.\u00a0 In 2025, PS membership surpassed their $250,000 goal.\u00a0 There is more good news coming out of Washington, D.C. for 2026.\u00a0 First, The Planetary Society has established an office in our nation\u2019s capital headed by their Director of Government Relations, Jack Kiraly.\u00a0 According to the <\/span>Planetary Report, <\/span><\/i>this office will attend everything, \u201cFrom high-profile events and important meetings to casual member get-togethers and celebrations.\u00a0 This new permanent presence will elevate our work in D.C.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Congress added to the joy when they rejected the White House\u2019s proposed cuts to NASA\u2019s budget.\u00a0 Instead, lawmakers passed a $24.4 billion NASA budget with an additional $7.26 billion added for the Science Mission Directorate – figures that are only slightly below the 2025 levels.\u00a0 The White House proposal called for 24 percent and 47 percent reductions from the 2025 level.\u00a0 By rejecting these steep cuts, NASA will not be forced to cut more than a dozen missions currently in the pipeline.\u00a0 Again, the Society had an impact as tens of thousands of members and friends in every state sent 100,000 messages to their representatives.\u00a0 No doubt a similar effort will be needed as it is anticipated that there will be similar reductions [as the original 2025 budget called for] proposed in the next budget cycle.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Dr. Bruce Betts, the Chief Scientist for the Society, offered up the following <\/span>Random Space Fact:\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>\u201cThe mass of the Sun compared to the mass of Earth is about the same ratio as the mass of a large elephant compared to the mass of a small mouse.\u201d\u00a0 Dr. Betts is also in charge of the quarterly Trivia contest. \u00a0 The Winter Solstice question was, \u201cIn kilometers or miles, how much bigger is the Earth\u2019s equatorial radius compared to its polar radius?\u201d\u00a0 The answer was, \u201c22 kilometers or 14 miles,\u201d meaning the Earth is not a perfect sphere (but for a body with a 4,000 mile radius, it is pretty close).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0During the last decade of my teaching career, I liked to compile a string of Dr. Bruce\u2019s video shorts to show my students.\u00a0 With a two page quiz in front of them as they watched, I paused after each section so they could respond and prove they were paying attention.\u00a0 Some of his bits were corny, but every one of them passed along useful information.\u00a0 One of my favorites was a character named \u2018Ecurb\u2019 dusted off by Betts from time to time.\u00a0 \u2018Bruce\u2019 spelled backwards, Ecurb was his evil alter ego (think of Snidely Whiplash from <\/span>Bullwinkle, the Moose<\/span><\/i>).\u00a0 You can imagine the strange looks the kids gave me the one time I made that comparison:\u00a0 \u201cBull-who?\u201d\u00a0 I will let another character (Johnny Carson\u2019s Carnac the Magnificent) answer the Solstice issue trivia before the question is revealed:\u00a0 \u201cThe answer is, \u2018Carl Sagan\u2019 (pause for sidekick Ed McMahon to repeat the answer and then give a hearty belly laugh)…and the question is, \u201cIn college, when Bill Nye took Introduction to Astronomy, who was his professor?\u201d\u00a0 If you are of a certain age, no explanation of Carnac or McMahon will be needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s get back to the Solstice issue\u2019s cover story:\u00a0 Since the Rosetta spacecraft visited comet 67p\/Churyumov-Gerisamenko in 2014, we have learned a great deal about these icy visitors from the distant reaches of the Solar System.\u00a0 Long before astronomers could view them with telescopes, ancient people saw comets as, \u201cOmens, messengers (often of doom), or divine portents\u201d according to the <\/span>PR<\/span><\/i>\u2019s Jason Davis.\u00a0 \u201cToday,\u201d he continues, \u201cwe know comets not as harbingers but as ancient assemblages of ice and dust left over from the dawn of the Solar System – time capsules carrying water and organic compounds that predate Earth itself.\u201d\u00a0 Rosetta orbited 76P\/C-G from 2014 to 2017, thus becoming the first spacecraft to accompany a comet as it traveled around the Sun.\u00a0 With this unprecedented mission, Rosetta\u2019s suite of instruments were able to monitor how sunlight transformed the surface and atmosphere of the comet up close..<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Led by Kathrin Altwegg, a science team at the University of Bern learned that there were far more organic molecules present than they anticipated.\u00a0 One of the long standing theories of how life developed on the Earth speculates that some of the building blocks arrived with comets or asteroids.\u00a0 Altwegg described their discovery:\u00a0 \u201cThe organics in comets like 67P were mostly produced before the Solar System was born.\u00a0 These organics are universal,\u00a0 We can even observe some of them in dark molecular clouds and star-forming regions.\u00a0 This means whatever led to life on Earth can happen elsewhere in the Universe.\u201d\u00a0 This reminds me of one of Carl Sagan\u2019s favorite sayings:\u00a0 \u201cEverything is made of star-stuff.\u00a0 We are made from star-stuff.\u201d\u00a0 If there are alien life forms elsewhere in the Universe, apparently they will also be made from star-stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Altwegg expects we will need more missions to comets to understand the big picture.\u00a0 The Rosetta craft studied mostly the coma – the dust and gas that surrounds the core.\u00a0 As sunlight warms the surface of this nucleus, gas and dust jets erupt forming the coma.\u00a0 The solar wind then pushes these materials out away from the Sun to form the tail.\u00a0 She continued saying, \u201cWe still don\u2019t know how the ice and dust are distributed inside or how homogeneous comets really are.\u00a0 To answer that, we need to visit more comets.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The goal of a European Space Agency mission called Comet Interceptor will explore that idea, just a little deeper in space.\u00a0 CI, scheduled to launch in 2029, would meet a comet farther from the Sun, thus allowing it to examine a pristine comet soon after it leaves the Oort Cloud (the name given to the area beyond Pluto seen as the source of many cometary bodies).\u00a0 Studying the surface before sunlight begins to react with these ancient ices will tell us more about the ancient materials that formed the Solar System.\u00a0 No comet has been targeted yet.\u00a0 Comet Interceptor will park itself at the Sun \/ Earth L2 point (the area where gravity from the two objects are in balance) and wait until a suitable candidate comet is spotted heading into the inner Solar System.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Water is another one of the building blocks of life as we know it.\u00a0 As with organic materials that may have hitch-hiked here from elsewhere, many scientists have speculated that there is a similar origin story for the water we have on Earth:\u00a0 it arrived courtesy of comets and asteroids.\u00a0 Rosetta found something interesting when it took a close up look at the ices on comet 67P.\u00a0 The deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio in 67P\u2019s water does not match the ratio found in water on the Earth.\u00a0 This suggests that only some comets and asteroids carry water similar to what we find on Earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being able to look at comet ice farther from Earth and the Sun with the Comet Interceptor mission may shed more light on where the Earth\u2019s water came from.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We have studied comets long enough to discover that those that have settled into the Kui[per Belt are more short term with orbital periods of up to 200 years.\u00a0 Some interact with the large outer planets and get flung further out to that vast spherical domain called the Oort Cloud (named for Jan Oort, who first postulated its existence).\u00a0 Present theories suggest the Oort Cloud may stretch halfway to our nearest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri.\u00a0 If Proxima also has its own Oort Cloud, perhaps it interacts with our\u2019s – maybe even to the extent that we could see comets originating from another star besides our own.\u00a0 More data is needed.\u00a0 Thus far, all of the comets we have visited (67P, Giacobini-Zinner, Grig-Skjellerup, Halley, Borrelly, Wild 2, Tempel 1, and Hartley 2) have been short term comets more than likely sourced from the Kuiper Belt.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Just to make it more interesting, cometary astronomy has also discovered some can be classified as being \u2018warm\u2019.\u00a0 According to Davis, \u201cNot every comet fits neatly into \u2018short\u2019 or \u2018long\u2019 categories,\u00a0 Some orbit within the main asteroid belt, while others skim the Sun or fade into dormant, rocky relics.\u00a0 These transitional worlds blur the line between asteroids and comets, revealing how one population evolves into the other.\u201d\u00a0 Yes, the more we encounter these ancient chunks of astro-real estate, the more we uncover about the secret lives of comets.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We will let Davis summarize the whole comet mystery:\u00a0 \u201cEach comet we study is a messenger from the Solar System\u2019s earliest days.\u00a0 They carry the raw ingredients that built planets, oceans, and perhaps life itself, preserved in ice and dust for billions of years.\u00a0 By examining these icy travelers, we glimpse the processes that shaped Earth and the worlds around us.\u00a0 We can\u2019t return to those first moments, but through comets, we can hear the whispers of our cosmic origins.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Finally, let me add a hearty \u2018well done and best wishes\u2019 to Bill Nye as he passes the leadership torch.\u00a0 We are fully confident that he will be just as busy behind the scenes promoting space exploration as he has been leading the charge.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Piece Video:\u00a0 \u00a0 From\u00a0Live at Pompeii –<\/em> What says ‘voluntary contributions to space exploration’ like\u00a0 Pink Floyd’s\u00a0Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun?<\/em>\u00a0 Okay, a bit of a stretch, but a good excuse to revisit Pompeii!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When the March 2026 Equinox edition of The Planetary Report (Vol. 46, No. 01) landed in my mail box, the cover image of Comet 67P\/Churyumov – Gerasimenko didn\u2019t give a hint as to the major announcement that was waiting on page 4.\u00a0 The image was taken by the European Space Agency\u2019s Rosetta spacecraft in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-from-the-vaults","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3836"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3839,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3836\/revisions\/3839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}