Pluto Matters

Prof. Renu Malhotra

Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona

Our understanding of the history of the solar system has undergone a revolution in recent years, owing to new theoretical insights into the origin of Pluto and the discovery of the Kuiper Belt and its rich dynamical structure. The emerging picture is one of dramatic orbital migration of the planets in the early history of the solar system, driven by interaction with the primordial Kuiper Belt, which produced the final solar system architecture that we live in today. The evidence is all over the solar system, as close as the Moon and as far away as Pluto and the remnant Kuiper Belt. Dr. Malhotra will review this new view of our solar system's history, describe the astronomical evidence, and critically assess current theoretical models.