Future “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert celebrated NASA’s release of the first detailed photos of Pluto on Tuesday by taking astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson to task for the famed scientist’s vocal dislike of the dwarf planet.
In the promo video for Colbert’s upcoming CBS show, deGrasse Tyson told the comedian that Pluto is “awesome, minus 10 percent.”
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft passed Pluto on Tuesday and sent the most detailed pictures of the last unseen planet in the solar system. The new “Late Show” host was incredibly disappointed by the scientist’s lack of enthusiasm for Pluto.
“It would be totally awesome if it was a bigger place,” deGrasse Tyson said.
But the history of the mission wasn’t lost on deGrasse Tyson.
“It’s especially beautiful and especially exciting because no one has seen this before yesterday,” he said.
Watch the entire exchange here:
Colbert is awesome plus ten percent.
I found out that the reason why Pluto is a “Dwarf Planet” isn’t size, but the fact it hasn’t cleared it’s orbit of debris…given how slow it moves, Pluto may just be a baby planet…
Very tiny…especially when you factor in that 40% of its mass is ice.
Some good info in there, mixed with the comedy:
Hilarious! Can’t wait for his show to start.
I particularly love Stephen’s “mission control” - definitely alpha geek all the way.
Reminds me of a similar setup in my bedroom as a young lad.