Mike Brown looks at the stars. He finds many new things in space. He found a small world called Eris. This helped us learn about Pluto. Space is full of surprises. Do you like to look at the stars?
Mike Brown is a scientist who studies space. He looks for small worlds far from the sun.
His team found a world called Eris. Eris is very heavy. This find changed how we think about Pluto.
Because of these finds, Pluto is now a dwarf planet. This means it is a small world.
Mike has found many other small worlds too. He even thinks there might be a ninth big planet. He works at a place called Caltech. He is a great teacher.
Michael E. Brown is an astronomer who studies space. He is a professor at Caltech. He looks for objects far from the sun. His team found many trans-Neptunian objects. These are worlds that orbit past Neptune.
One big find was a dwarf planet named Eris. A dwarf planet is a small world. Eris is more massive than Pluto. This discovery changed how we define a planet. Because of this, Pluto is now called a dwarf planet. Some people call Brown the man who "killed Pluto."
Brown has found 29 minor planets. He also found objects like Sedna and Orcus. He and another scientist think a large Planet Nine might exist. This planet would be between the size of Earth and Neptune.
Brown won the Kavli Prize in 2012. He won it for studying the Kuiper belt. This is a ring of objects in space. He also wrote a book about his work. It is called "How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming." He is a very famous scientist.
Michael E. Brown is a famous American astronomer. He studies the far reaches of our solar system. Since 2003, he has been a professor at the California Institute of Technology, also called Caltech.
He looks for objects that orbit very far away from the Sun. His work helps us understand the history of our planetary system. He has even been named one of the Time 100 most influential people.
Brown's team works to find trans-Neptunian objects, or TNOs. These are objects that orbit in the space past the planet Neptune.
One major discovery was a dwarf planet named Eris. Eris is a very interesting world because it is more massive than Pluto. This discovery caused a big debate about what makes a planet. Because of Eris, Pluto was changed from a planet to a dwarf planet.
Some people even call Brown the man who "killed Pluto."
Brown has had a long and busy career in science. He grew up in Huntsville, Alabama, and went to Virgil I. Grissom High School.
He earned a physics degree from Princeton University in 1987. Later, he studied at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his PhD in astronomy there in 1994.
He has discovered or helped find 29 minor planets. These include worlds like Sedna, Orcus, and the dwarf planet Haumea.
There was a big disagreement about the discovery of Haumea.
Brown's team saw the object for about six months. However, a team in Spain announced they found it first. There was an investigation into how computer records were accessed. The International Astronomical Union has not named one single discoverer for Haumea.
Even so, the IAU did use the name Haumea that Brown suggested. This name fits well with the names of Haumea's two moons.
Brown continues to look for new things in the dark sky. In 2016, he and Konstantin Batygin suggested a new world might exist.
They call it Planet Nine. They think it is a large planet between the size of Earth and Neptune.
Brown also won the Kavli Prize in 2012 for his work. He won this prize for studying the Kuiper belt. This is a ring of objects far out in space. His work shows us that our solar system is still full of secrets.
Michael E. Brown is a prominent American astronomer. He specializes in planetary astronomy. Since 2003, he has served as a professor at the California Institute of Technology, known as Caltech.
His research focuses on the distant reaches of our solar system. He studies objects that orbit far beyond the known planets. His work has changed how scientists understand the history of our planetary system. Because of his discoveries, he has been named one of the Time 100 most influential people.
Brown’s primary work involves finding trans-Neptunian objects, or TNOs. These are celestial bodies that orbit the Sun in the region past the planet Neptune.
His team has discovered many of these objects. One of the most significant finds was the dwarf planet Eris. Eris is unique because it is the only known TNO more massive than Pluto. This discovery created a major scientific debate. It forced astronomers to reconsider the formal definition of a planet. Consequently, Pluto was downgraded from a major planet to a dwarf planet. This event led to Brown being called the man who "killed Pluto."
Brown has identified many other specific worlds in the outer solar system. His team discovered the dwarf planet Sedna, which may be the first observed body of the inner Öpik–Oort cloud. They also found the dwarf planet Orcus. Additionally, his team found the dwarf planet Haumea. Brown and his collaborator Jean-Luc Margot also discovered the moons Romulus and Linus in the asteroid belt in 2001. The Minor Planet Center credits Brown with the discovery or co-discovery of 29 minor planets. These discoveries help map the complex structure of the outer solar system.
The discovery of Haumea involved a significant scientific controversy. Brown’s team had been observing the object for approximately six months. However, a team from the Sierra Nevada Observatory in Spain announced they found it first. An investigation followed regarding how computer archives were accessed. It was found that a website containing Brown's telescope logs was accessed eight times. These accesses came from computers at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia. This institute is where the Spanish team worked. The logs contained a specific code used for Haumea.
Brown petitioned the International Astronomical Union to credit his team. The IAU has not officially named a single discoverer for Haumea. However, the IAU did accept the name Haumea, which Brown suggested. This name matches the names of the object's two moons.
Brown’s academic journey prepared him for these massive discoveries. He grew up in Huntsville, Alabama. He graduated from Virgil I. Grissom High School in 1983.
He then attended Princeton University. He earned an A.B. degree in physics in 1987. For his senior thesis, he simulated galaxy count correlations under Edward J. Groth. Later, he moved to the University of California, Berkeley. He earned an MA in astronomy in 1990 and a PhD in astronomy in 1994. This deep training allowed him to lead complex surveys for distant solar system objects.
His scientific contributions have earned him many prestigious honors. In 2007, he received the Feynman Prize from Caltech. This is the university's most prestigious teaching honor. In 2012, he was awarded the Kavli Prize in Astrophysics. He shared this prize with Jane Luu and David C. Jewitt. They were honored for characterizing the Kuiper belt and its largest members. This work provided a major advance in understanding our solar system's history.
Even an asteroid, 11714 Mikebrown, was named in his honor in 1998.
Brown continues to look for even larger mysteries. In January 2016, he and Konstantin Batygin proposed a new theory. They suggested the existence of a massive object called Planet Nine.
They believe this planet sits between the sizes of Earth and Neptune. This proposal uses mathematical reasoning to suggest a large world exists far out in the dark. His work connects the study of small, distant objects to the search for major planets. This research keeps the exploration of our solar system active and evolving.
Where will your curiosity go next?
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.