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Pluto, Planets and Astronomy – A Profile of Professor Timothy Beers
Alisha Green
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Astronomy Professor and recent University Distinguished Professor in Physics and Astronomy Timothy Beers will tell you that there is much more to his field than some people may think.
Beers had an interest in science from a young age. Growing up in West Lafayette, Ind., he was a newspaper boy and recalls that the only color pictures in those days were for manned rocket missions. As a delivery boy, he was the first to see the pictures and would sift through that day’s papers to find the most pristine photo, cut it out and save it in a notebook that he still has.
Beers began teaching at MSU in 1986, and though he did not originally intend to become an astronomy professor, his special circumstances while attending Purdue University enabled him to discover his interest in the field.
Engineering was the natural field for someone with an interest in math and science to pursue, so he majored in metallurgical engineering. Only later in his college career did he become interested in physics, and then particularly astronomy.
“Some people know what they want to do, and they always do it and that’s fine, but I think that’s the minority. And so it’s important, I think, for people to keep their options open as long as possible and to explore other options,” said Beers.
His father taught at Purdue, and as a result of the faculty discount, Beers paid a total of $50 per semester.
“What that enabled me to do was take as many courses as I wanted. They were also on block tuition, not pay per course, so indeed I could take 18 credit hours a semester and just do things because I was interested, and not worry about the extra cost, which was helpful,” Beers said.
Among his many achievements, Beers is a member of the International Astronomical Union, the now legendary institution that stripped Pluto of its planet status in 2006 at their general meeting in Prague. The IAU meets every three years and typically involves 3,000 to 4,000 astronomers, which is a fair amount of the 12,000 to 15,000 astronomers worldwide. At their 2006 meeting, a variety of reasons forced them to have to make a decision about whether or not Pluto could still be considered a planet.
In the last few years, due to better technology, may more potential planets have been found outside the orbit of Pluto in a region called the Kuiper Belt. This new information made it necessary to update the criteria for deeming an object a planet in order to avoid giving many of the newly discovered bodies planetary status.
Over the course of the two-week meeting, a set of criteria were developed for planetary status, and it was decided that these new rules would make it so Pluto and objects in the Kuiper Belt would be called dwarf planets. Part of the controversy over the decision may arise from the fact that the official vote on the issue did not take place until the last day of the two-week meeting, so many people had already left, and only about 400 astronomers were there to vote.
Beers was surprised by the amount of public interest in the decision. As soon as he arrived back in Michigan, he was interviewed by press eager to know what happened at the meeting.
“I really thought it wasn’t going to be that big of a deal, but obviously it was a slow news week or something,” said Beers.
There was surprise among many when they found out that there was an organization that could change the rules about planetary status. Many people also thought that the decision was arbitrary, but Beers pointed out that the decision was definitely necessary to avoid having many more objects classified as planets. He also discussed the importance of classification in general to the world of science.
“People think science is equations and theories and hypotheses, things of that nature. Science involves those. However, at its most fundamental level, science is classification – trying to make order out of chaos,” Beers said. “Until science can classify, it is extremely difficult – if not impossible – to come up with general hypotheses, tests and theories.”
The IAU has many other important functions. Going to the meetings has led to the chance to be a part of many large collaborations for Beers, including gaining access to the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) 4.1m Telescope in Chile. Collaborations such as these also aid the students.
“It makes it possible for many graduate students, and even undergraduates who have an interest in the research, to be working with new data, with new challenges – not stuff we already understand,” Beers said. “[We hope to] use it as a way that undergraduate astronomy majors can see the connection between research and what they’re learning about in a much more direct way.”
Collaborations have allowed Beers to work with the Hubble Telescope and have some years where one of his projects is being observed one out of every three nights – a ratio that helps move research along more quickly.
Beers encountered one unexpected perk when he decided to become an astronomer. He has traveled a lot as a result of his work, something most people would not immediately associate with astronomy, but a part of the job that turns out to be a crucial element of facilitating working with groups around the world and conducting research. He has traveled over 75,000 miles a year for the last five years, going to various countries to present results and sit on review panels. His expertise has earned him seats in government funding review panels for groups such as the National Science Foundation and NASA.
“It’s hectic sometimes. But if I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t keep doing it,” Beers said. “Being able to go someplace, anywhere in the world, and have people care about the work that you’ve done and are reporting on, and they’re sitting there wanting to hear about it, and they’re very interested… That’s a pretty good feeling, and that’s not something that you could get in many jobs.”
Questions? Comments? Contact Alisha Green at greena11@msu.edu
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