Philosophy
Venetia Burney Phair
by
Thom Airs
April 24th, 2009
Oxford Mail
THE story of how an 11-year-old Oxford schoolgirl named the planet Pluto is explored in a new documentary which premiered in the city this week.
Venetia Burney Phair came up with the title over breakfast on March 14, 1930, after her grandfather, Falconer Madan— a former head of the Bodleian Library — read about the discovery of a new planet in The Times.
Venetia lived in North Oxford and attended the now-defunct Pelican School in the city centre.
During an outdoor lesson on planetary science at the University Parks at the age of 10, her interest in astronomy was sparked.
Her schooling had also taught her that planets had been named after classical gods, and that Pluto had not been used.
In the new 13-minute documentary, Naming Pluto, Mrs Burney Phair recalled: "It was about 8am and I was having breakfast with my mother and my grandfather, and my grandfather, as usual, opened the paper, The Times, and in it he read that a new planet had been discovered."
"He wondered what it should be called, we all wondered, and then I said 'why not call it Pluto?' and the whole thing stemmed from that."
Mrs Burney Phair's grandfather liked the name and mentioned it to colleagues at the Bodleian Library and to his friend Herbert Hall Turner, a former president of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The suggestion was then sent by telegram to the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, which had the planet's naming rights, and the title was made official on May 1, 1930.
To celebrate, Mr Madan gave £5 to Venetia and her school.
The school spent it on a wind-up gramophone which they subsequently used for music appreciation lessons.
However, until 2007 Mrs Burney Phair had never seen her planet through a telescope. The short film, which was shown as part of the OxDox festival at the Ultimate Picture Palace in Jeune Street, East Oxford, on Wednesday, records the quest for her to see it.
During the film's production, the International Astronomical Union controversially demoted Pluto to a 'dwarf planet' following a reclassification of the solar system, and the British weather caused a year-long hold up as it did its best to deny Mrs Burney Phair a clear view.
Director and producer Ginita Jimenez said: "It's an extraordinary story."
"It's one of those touching human stories in British science history which we rarely come across and that travels over and above anyone who's interested in science or astronomy — it's for everybody. I read a very small article about it in a broadsheet in the summer of 2006 and I thought 'what an incredible story'."
"Secondary to that was the fact she had never had the chance to view the planet she had named through a telescope."
"It was very ambitious to view Pluto and it was very dramatic, and that drama all started in Oxford."
Father Films
- Pluto Day Poster--2012
The event has passed but here are a few comments by Laurel Kornfeld...The Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co. in Seattle is once again sponsoring its annual Pluto Day March and Rally in support of Pluto's planethood, held in conjunction with the 82nd...
- Prairie State Government Declares Pluto A Planet
This will make some people happy. "Illinois restores Pluto's planetary status" 13 March is Pluto Day, senate declares by Lester Haines March 6th, 2009 The Register The State of Illinois has decided it's unhappy with Pluto's 2006 expulsion...
- Pluto, Tyson, Cnn Lecture
From CNN: "The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet" Neil deGrasse Tyson talks about the controversy over re-classifying Pluto as a comet. New York's American Museum of Natural History, where this talk was held, was the...
- "pluto A Planet" Poll
Should Pluto be considered a planet? Yes....9 [90%] No....1 [10%] Just a guess, but I would bet that those voted "Yes" are lay persons and not bona fide astronomers. Such controversy. Simply put...if the astronomers wish to redefine the characteristics...
- "naming Pluto"--a Film
Venetia Burney Phair A short film, Naming Pluto, by Ginita Jimenez. This is the story of the Venetia Burney Phair, the only person alive to have ever named a planet. As an 11-year-old Oxford schoolgirl in March 1930, she came up with the suggestion...
Philosophy
"Naming Pluto"...a film review
Venetia Burney Phair"How an Oxford schoolgirl came to name planet Pluto"
by
Thom Airs
April 24th, 2009
Oxford Mail
THE story of how an 11-year-old Oxford schoolgirl named the planet Pluto is explored in a new documentary which premiered in the city this week.
Venetia Burney Phair came up with the title over breakfast on March 14, 1930, after her grandfather, Falconer Madan— a former head of the Bodleian Library — read about the discovery of a new planet in The Times.
Venetia lived in North Oxford and attended the now-defunct Pelican School in the city centre.
During an outdoor lesson on planetary science at the University Parks at the age of 10, her interest in astronomy was sparked.
Her schooling had also taught her that planets had been named after classical gods, and that Pluto had not been used.
In the new 13-minute documentary, Naming Pluto, Mrs Burney Phair recalled: "It was about 8am and I was having breakfast with my mother and my grandfather, and my grandfather, as usual, opened the paper, The Times, and in it he read that a new planet had been discovered."
"He wondered what it should be called, we all wondered, and then I said 'why not call it Pluto?' and the whole thing stemmed from that."
Mrs Burney Phair's grandfather liked the name and mentioned it to colleagues at the Bodleian Library and to his friend Herbert Hall Turner, a former president of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The suggestion was then sent by telegram to the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, which had the planet's naming rights, and the title was made official on May 1, 1930.
To celebrate, Mr Madan gave £5 to Venetia and her school.
The school spent it on a wind-up gramophone which they subsequently used for music appreciation lessons.
However, until 2007 Mrs Burney Phair had never seen her planet through a telescope. The short film, which was shown as part of the OxDox festival at the Ultimate Picture Palace in Jeune Street, East Oxford, on Wednesday, records the quest for her to see it.
During the film's production, the International Astronomical Union controversially demoted Pluto to a 'dwarf planet' following a reclassification of the solar system, and the British weather caused a year-long hold up as it did its best to deny Mrs Burney Phair a clear view.
Director and producer Ginita Jimenez said: "It's an extraordinary story."
"It's one of those touching human stories in British science history which we rarely come across and that travels over and above anyone who's interested in science or astronomy — it's for everybody. I read a very small article about it in a broadsheet in the summer of 2006 and I thought 'what an incredible story'."
"Secondary to that was the fact she had never had the chance to view the planet she had named through a telescope."
"It was very ambitious to view Pluto and it was very dramatic, and that drama all started in Oxford."
Father Films
- Pluto Day Poster--2012
The event has passed but here are a few comments by Laurel Kornfeld...The Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co. in Seattle is once again sponsoring its annual Pluto Day March and Rally in support of Pluto's planethood, held in conjunction with the 82nd...
- Prairie State Government Declares Pluto A Planet
This will make some people happy. "Illinois restores Pluto's planetary status" 13 March is Pluto Day, senate declares by Lester Haines March 6th, 2009 The Register The State of Illinois has decided it's unhappy with Pluto's 2006 expulsion...
- Pluto, Tyson, Cnn Lecture
From CNN: "The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet" Neil deGrasse Tyson talks about the controversy over re-classifying Pluto as a comet. New York's American Museum of Natural History, where this talk was held, was the...
- "pluto A Planet" Poll
Should Pluto be considered a planet? Yes....9 [90%] No....1 [10%] Just a guess, but I would bet that those voted "Yes" are lay persons and not bona fide astronomers. Such controversy. Simply put...if the astronomers wish to redefine the characteristics...
- "naming Pluto"--a Film
Venetia Burney Phair A short film, Naming Pluto, by Ginita Jimenez. This is the story of the Venetia Burney Phair, the only person alive to have ever named a planet. As an 11-year-old Oxford schoolgirl in March 1930, she came up with the suggestion...