NOVA: The Pluto Files

Since its discovery in 1930, Pluto has held a warm place in the public imagination. So, when the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium stopped calling Pluto a planet, director Neil deGrasse Tyson found himself at the center of a firestorm -- a firestorm led by angry, Pluto-loving elementary school students. But what is it about this cold, distant rock that captures so many hearts?

In "NOVA: The Pluto Files," Tyson follows the story of its discovery and the science that surrounds this former planet, including the possibility of finding more Pluto-like planets in the mysterious Kuiper belt --an area of icy rocks at the edge of the solar system.

From the scientists trying to classify Pluto to die-hard "Pluto-philes," Tyson meets a fascinating cast of characters with just one thing in common: strong opinions about Pluto. Based on Tyson's book of the same name, this program is a look at the solar system's best-loved non-planet.

View the entire program online beginning March 3, 2010.