so what recommendations do you have as far as absorbing the material and words of encouragement you have for those of us that will be traveling on this? - you know, john thank you so much for asking. i mean, i've actually never met a doughnut i didn't like either, and i love those cheese crackers. the problem is they don't love me. and i can lose control with them. and that's not what i want. it's why i tried to make you know, these ten steps. it's like, this is not hard. but the problem with most people, i think, is they never think about the brain. so no one is ever thinking about the level of omega-3 fatty acids in your blood. they're telling you to eat less when you feel hungry all the time. no one's measuring your vitamin d level which is just absolutely essential to sort of helping turn down that appetite monster in your head. if you do the things that i told you-- and the first thing is know your

bmi. and that will horrify you, and that is a good thing. some anxiety is good. a lot of people go, "oh, you know let's just chill out and everybody be happy and don't be anxious." and it's like, no, you need to be anxious i mean, if your goal is not to be suicidal, if it's to live a long time because you have work and you have people you care about it's like, "oh, my goodness. i need to get serious about this." so if you do the program step by step what i've seen is, it works. it works for our nfl players. it works for me. it works for people i'm close to. i know this will help you. but one really critical point is you do not need to think about this as "i'm gonna do it for 12 months." you need to think, "i'm doing this for the rest of my life." and with that, you'll see the pounds come off.

you'll see that you used to get into pants-- if you looked at mine-- in doing the wardrobe for the show so i was at fashion island. and i'm in the men's store there. and i put on a size 30 jeans. i've not worn a size 30 jeans since i was 18 years old. and the guy there, mark was his name, he said "you're gonna have to go to the boy's department." and now i told him when he handed me the 30 i said, "you know, i'm not sure i'm emotionally ready for this." and that's a very important point because a lot of people, when they lose weight, they're actually not emotionally ready for what's gonna happen, especially true for women, 'cause now all of a sudden they're getting attention that makes them nervous or uncomfortable. so there's a whole host of psychological issues that you have to deal with. but you know, i'd much rather deal with a size 30 jeans

than deal with high cholesterol or heart disease. or you know, in my line of work having a smaller brain just doesn't work for me, right? thank you. - thank you very much. [applause] - good afternoon. my name's linda. and i have high blood sugar issues with type 2 diabetes and inflammation issues with rheumatoid arthritis. and the two seem to battle each other. at least i think they do. maybe you could clarify that. and how can eating better help one or the other or both? - the two issues aren't battling each other so i'd just go that's an ant. "i need to get rid of that thought. "what i need to do is i need to decrease inflammation and get my blood sugar under control," because both of them are a nightmare for your health and your longevity. so we talked about ways to decrease your blood sugar which means you have to eat frequently.

i mean, if you saw my diet i actually eat six times a day. i'm always eating something, but i'm really thoughtful about what i'm eating, plus fish oil, boosting the omega-3 fatty acids in your body does a really good job at decreasing inflammation. we have a new test that we're doing in our office where we actually measure the fatty acid level in your blood. and i have to tell you i have been routinely horrified by the level of omega-3 fatty acids in my patients' brains and in many of my employee brains. my niece, who i love-- i mean, you know, she's like in the top ten of people i love in the whole world. she's pregnant. we do her fatty acid level and it's horrible. and, you know, i, like chewed her out and made sure, "fish oil for you," because it helps the baby's brain and otherwise, it's setting her up for problems.

so we talked about calorie restriction decreases inflammation also helps your diabetes. the supplement alpha-lipoic acid has a-level scientific evidence that it helps to balance blood sugar. and a-level scientific evidence means really good, solid evidence that it can help. exercise, fish oil eating multiple times a day, knowing your important numbers. so say you have a low vitamin-d level. well, that promotes diabetes that promotes inflammation. it's like well how easy is that, right? and it's not the same thing as taking a multiple vitamin right, because in a multiple vitamin there's 400 international units of vitamin d. what i required to get my level to normal was 6,000 international units a day.

and so some people go, "but if you take too much, is that a problem?" that's why you gotta get your level checked. you know, my whole work on brain imaging is based on this very simple concept. how the heck would i ever know about what's going on in your brain if i didn't look? how would i ever know about your vitamin-d level or your omega-3 fatty acid level if i didn't look? i mean, using some of the scans and the lab tests, they're critical for us to really understand what's going on with you so that we can better target treatment and help so you don't have to live with rheumatoid arthritis and you don't have to live with diabetes. or if you do because, if you have diabetes, it's the time to be dead serious about getting it under control. i lived with a father-in-law for, you know, 20 years who just never got it seriously, just didn't get it and kept sneaking the doughnuts and sneaking the pastries. and then he lost one leg and then he lost another leg

and then he lost his sight and then he got dementia. and i'm just like, "john, come on." a little anxiety is good. - you boosted that. [applause] - good afternoon, dr. amen. my name is marguerite. can you tell me, how long does it take for the brain to heal? - oh, that's a great question. and how long it takes the brain to heal sort of depends on how bad you've been to your brain. if you've been really bad to your brain, like many of my patients you will actually begin to see a difference within two months. it's very exciting. i mean, some of our football player brains these are some--as a group-- some of the worst brains that i've seen. and within two months, we see that they score better

on the neuropsychological tests we give 'em for memory and for attention and for reasoning, and we also see that their brains-- many of them-- start to heal as well. now what can give you brain damage? i mean, being overweight can give you brain damage. having sleep apnea, which often goes with being overweight can give you brain damage. having chemotherapy, how unfair is that? but as it kills cancer cells it also kills normal cells. having a lousy diet, not getting sleep, drinking too much-- somebody asked me like they always ask me, "you know "if i just have a big glass of wine every night, is that bad for me?" and the answer is yes, it's bad for you. right, according to a study from johns hopkins people who drink every day particularly women have a smaller brain. and you've heard me say when it comes to the brain size really does matter. you don't want to have a smaller brain.

but you know what i've been excited about almost from the moment i started ordering brain scans is, i can change these damaged brains and if i do, i change your life. thank you. [applause] - hi, dr. amen. my name is carla. and i'm very, very inspired to change my really awful, horrible diet. i'm very much madly in love with coffee with lots of sugar and cream. it's like hot ice cream, that's how i like my coffee. and my diet is horrible. and you have so inspired me to change, and i'm a little confused. - okay, so let's get rid of the ant that i am in love with coffee, sugar, and fat. see, if you keep that thought, you have just defeated yourself because who wouldn't give up something that they love? it's really a good question for all of us.

how can we fall in love with things that are great for us? - okay, so let's say i break up with coffee and, you know, there's a good chance i might turn into someone who's not a very nice person for a while. and i'm wondering if there's some kind of replacement to kind of lean into the life without coffee. - so let me give you some suggestions. start with decaf. and if you can't do decaf, then the love really is not with coffee. it's with caffeine. i mean, you should just be honest with whatever you're in love with. okay, so you can have decaf. clearly, coffee without the caffeine has 160 antioxidants in it and it's not bad for you. and then one of my favorites is you can get almond milk.

i love almond milk. and you can get unsweetened vanilla or original flavor almond milk. put that in your coffee. it is so sweet. and then you can sweeten it with stevia. now, i know a lot of people say, "but stevia can be bitter." it's actually 300 times sweeter than sugar. but there's this one company that actually makes, like, nine different flavors of stevia. my favorite is cinnamon, right? i mean, of course, right? but it also comes in lemon and valencia orange and grape and english toffee and chocolate raspberry. i mean, it's like there are so many healthy options. so you're in love with something that's going to kill you early or why not-- and it's the same thing

as if you were on match.com, right? do you tend to pick the bad boys? or do you tend to pick the ones that are good for you? it's your choice. i just choose to reay think about my food and put things in my body that serve me, rather than steal from me. thank you. - thank you. [applause] - hello. i'm camille dixon. and i'm back in the studio with dr. daniel amen the host of this fascinating lecture, change your brain, change your body. where else could you invest two hours in watching a television program and come away with so much to think about and so many ideas to improve your life? isn't that reason enough to call the number on your screen and support the one reliable station on television

that consistently brings you a lineup of programs that doesn't assume you can't follow a detailed topic or an absorbing lecture? if you appreciate that respect for your intellect and want to apply dr. amen's advice to your life, then pledge at the $90 membership level, and we'll send you the double dvd of this lecture that comes complete with a full hour of bonus material including a really interesting q&a session with the audience, where you just saw a short sample. now, if you can make an investment in quality television at the $120 level, you'll receive the book, change your brain, change your body that goes into great detail about all of the subjects covered in the program we just aired and so much more. now, if you can afford a dollar a day a $365 gift of support we'll send you what we're calling the change your brain, change your body total health package. and here to tell us more is dr. amen. thank you so much for doing this. tell us a little bit what's in the package. - well, you know i'm just so excited

to partner with public television because it's only on public television that you'll see a show like mine. you know, i've been on larry king and the today show and cnn and good morning america. and i always have four minutes. and it's all about sound bytes. and here on public television, you can get information that is meaningful, detailed and it will change your life. i mean that's what's so exciting. and as a way to say thank you for supporting this amazing station i've developed this great package to really bring value into your life because we appreciate your suprt. so you get the double dvd of the show that includes an hour extra material. we just showed people part of it. there's also eight extra stories on the dvd that we couldn't broadcast for time 'cause i talk a lot. but, i mean, these are like, great stories. like, i mean, really what are the ways to boost your brain, to decrease your risk for alzheimer's

disease? what are the ways to boost your brain's reserve? i mean there's just great information. and then there's the book. and then, you know my favorite piece is the change your brain, change your body cookbook developed by my wife. and she and i did an 80-minute interview on this as well. there's 60 recipes. i mean, and great stuff. recipes for breakfast, for snacks, for lunch, for dinner. there's a whole part on brain-healthy parties. because, you know, when i turned 50 people got me four cakes. and i'm like, "what, you don't want me to make it to 52?" i mean, so why do we celebrate with things that are harmful hurtful to our bodies? so we talk about it. there's a six-cd set that comes with it. i mean, it's like you went away for the weekend with me and i taught you really, from "a" to "z" how to have a healthy brain and a healthy body. included in this

are three actual individual hypnotic sessions that i do for people: one for weight one for sleep, another one for anxiety. just really key, critical stuff. there's this great journal for you to keep track of your important numbers. also, how much did i eat today? was it good? was it not good? - how many calories? - how many calories? - so we know whether we're getting healthy calories or not. - are these calories that serve me or not? five things i'm grateful for. what are the 50 best brain-healthy foods? 100 ways to leave your blubber. i mean, really practical stuff. one of my favorite things is this cool little bmi wheel, where you just have to line up your height with your weight and it'll tell you you know "my bmi is in the healthy range. it's overweight." or "i'm im trouble. i'm obese." and you'll actually get to think of that. that's an emergency, because it's not good for your brain to have more fat on your body. but it seems as i go around the country

that everybody wants is, they want to know about, "well, what does my brain look like? "if i could come to one of the amen clinics and get a scan, what would my scan look like?" so i realize that wasn't affordable or practical for everyone. so based on tens of thousands of scans i developed these set of questionnaires to help people predict what their brain would look like if we could scan it. and then i give them some very specific information. plus, there are questionnaires on your hormones, 'cause as i said in the show, if your hormones aren't right, nothing's right. and also, there's a preventing alzheimer's risk assessment. so really great tools. and people go, "oh, it's $365. that's a lot of money." really, when you think about it, it's a dollar a day for the health of your brain the health of your body, and the health of this station. and it's 10% of the cost of coming to one of my clinics to have one of our full evaluations. and it's the cost if you went to see

your doctor, you know, like twice. this is what it would cost you to get all of this great information. - and this is so important to keep in mind. here's a reminder that if you've enjoyed this program with dr. daniel amen then now is the time to show your support for all the great programs you see on this public television station. please go to the phone and call the number on your screen right now. let's go back to the questionnaire, could we? you have four different types of questionnaires in here. obviously, we have the one that helps us determine our brain types. what are the others? - well, there's a questionnaire for men on hormone health. and a lot of people, they don't think of men and hormones. but men go through this thing we call andropause where their testosterone and dhea levels go low which means they put more weight on their body and their memories aren't as good. there's also a hormone questionnaire for women. there's another one that-- i call it my alzheimer's risk assessment,

preventing alzheimer's risk assessment. it's just so critical. if you want to decrease your risk for alzheimer's disease the way to do it is, know what your risk factors are like obesity and eliminate them. i also talk about the 12 most common preventable causes of death. obesity is number three. smoking is number one. but did you know having low levels of omega-3 fatty acids is the eighth leading preventable cause of death. and you can eliminate that today. - most people don't know that. - in fact, of all those 12 you can eliminate most of them using natural means starting immediately. - and i think, once again, one of the exciting things about this program is that you help us control the cravings help us control the things that railroad us when we're trying to conduct such a program. this is very exciting. - it's so exciting. that's what brain science does. you know, i call it practical brain science. boost your brain;

everything in your life is better, from your belly to your money to your memory to your relationships, everything. - because it isn't just about losing weight. i mean, losing weight is the first step. if you have 100 pounds or you have 5 pounds to lose it's important to do it because it represents such a huge difference in your life. and it's gonna have this domino effect as we go along. i think that's what we're learning, right? - well, you know-- and i read this study that as your weight goes up the physical size of your brain goes down. i went, "oh, my goodness." i mean, clearly is one of the things for me that motivated me to lose weight. but if your vitamin d level's off or your omega-3 fatty acid level is off or you're choosing toxic foods to eat none of that will work. you have to use this whole program which is why, also in this $365 package you get a ten-part online change your brain, change your body course that i will send you every week.

- i think it's exciting too that we can find natural ways of helping us, you know, get a little support so that we may find we have a little more willpower than we thought we did. that's a revelation to most of us, those of us who have tried so hard to overcome some of these challenges. you find out maybe it's a little easier than you think if you're doing the right things. - well, and so many patients my patients, that come to the amen clinics, they go, "i don't want to take medicine. what are the natural things i can do?" and over my 30 years of being a psychiatrist, more and more, it's like "what are the natural things i can do to help my patients?" i mean, how simple it is. you think of fish oil and vitamin d and eating the right foods can help decrease inflammation which decreases depression. i mean, who would've thought that depression is related to your diet? but it's absolutely connected. - and it's such a refreshing approach that we don't often hear. thank you so much for bringing this program to public television. - thank you. - than to you if you called with your pledge of support to this public television station.

we trust that you're enjoying that good feeling that comes with having done the right thing. and let me be the first to welcome you as one of our newest members. i'm camille dixon. thanks again for watching and for supporting your public television station.

neil degrasse tyson: in 1930, a farm boy with a passion for the universe notices a tiny dot moving across the night sky. he discovers pluto four billion miles from the sun and cloaked in darkness. pluto is a mystery. our best images are nothing more than a blur. and many scientists are arguing over whether it's even a planet. when we fly our spaceship to pluto we'll arrive at a round world. i'm able to use the word "world" if you like, but planet? tyson: the scientific debate over pluto has even caused a media frenzy. i'm sorry, i thought planets might be one of the constants in life. tyson: pluto lovers of america have taken to the streets. pluto forever! tyson: what is pluto? a new mission to the far reaches of the solar system promises to answer this question and more.

it's true first-time exploration. pluto is going to be completely revealed in all of its glory. tyson: join me, neil degrasse tyson on a journey to explore america's favorite planet. all: hi! tyson: and find out why some people are blaming pluto's problems on me. so, how do you feel about pluto, dr. tyson? tyson: these are "the pluto files," next on nova. major funding for nova is provided by the following... joe weissman: i've been growing algae for 35 yea supporting nova and promoting public understanding of science.

and the corporation for public broadcasting and by pbs viewers like you. major fundin tyson: for more than 75 years, the great stage of our solar system had a familiar cast of characters, nine players in all. we even memorized their names. mercury, venus, earth and mars... the rocky planets. jupiter, saturn, uranus and neptune... those gas giants. and all the way out to the very edge of our solar system perhaps the most popular player of all, a lonely little misfit planet pluto. but recently pluto lost its starring role, and some folks are blaming that on me.

i, neil degrasse tyson, director of the hayden planetarium, in new york city, have been accused of being... a pluto hater. back in 2000, when my colleagues and i were designing this place, instead of exhibiting pluto here with planets like earth and mars or up there with giants like jupiter and saturn we decided to boldly go where no planetarium had gone before and put pluto far, far away... all the way downstairs with a group of newly discovered icy objects in the outer solar system. if you look hard enough, you can find it right here. little did i know how much this decision would change my life.

my troubles began with the astute observation of one young visitor. i can't find pluto! tyson: who, just my luck, was overheard by an off-duty journalist from the new york times. he decides this is a great story, so he calls his times colleague, science writer kenneth chang and he's shocked. chang: well, i was looking for pluto and i couldn't find it. you look everywhere, you see eight planets, not nine. tyson: a few days later, chang's story hits the front page, right beneath george w.'s inauguration. the headline reads: "pluto's not a planet? only in new york." i received angry e-mails... and tons of letters, especially from pissed-off third graders. boy: "dear natural history museum pluto is my favorite planet!" girl: "why can't pluto be a planet?

"please write back but not in cursive because i can't read in cursive." mike novacek: i thought, "oh, my gosh, "kids will probably go to this exhibit and cry because pluto's no longer a planet." could it be the final indignity for the farthest and smallest planet in our solar system? tyson: our exhibit had stirred up a media frenzy. pluto was, since 1930, a planet-- he had stature he had friends. you come along and say "da, da, da, da, da!" diane sawyer: neil degrasse tyson, you have left a void in the universe as big as pluto. i never wanted to kick pluto out of the solar system; i just wanted to group it with its icy brethren. colbert: are you saying pluto should be with its own kind, separate but equal? yeah, i guess it comes out that way, doesn't it? neil degrasse tyson has betrayed us. he has thrown his weight around a little bit too much. he's not the boss of the solar system; he's not the boss of me.

tyson: if neptune or mercury had been reclassified, i don't think anybody would have cared. but the fact that it happened to pluto seems to make all the difference. pluto has a remarkable grip on the hearts and minds of the american public and the press. hat. even my colleagues in astrophysics are still arguing over what to do with pluto and i don't really know why. but i'm determined to find out. this is the story of my journey. these are "the pluto files." my first stop took me to cambridge, massachusetts. a visit to the hallowed halls of harvard just might help me make sense of this pluto problem. welcome to the harvard university...

football field. i brought a few props along with me, much to the surprise of my colleagues. (grunts) astrophysicist brian marsden doesn't think pluto is a planet, while planetary scientist mark sykes thinks it definitely is. and the esteemed historian of science, owen gingerich is looking for the middle ground. sykes: okay, neil, what are we doing here? we're making a scale model of the solar system right here on this playing field, so grab one of these. let's do it. and let's do it. tyson: to evaluate pluto's planetary status we need to take a closer look at how it compares with the heavy hitters on the solar system team. the planets are millions even billions, of miles apart, so this scale model can't accurately depict their distance from one another. but it can show their relative size. if this eight-foot balloon represents our sun

how does pluto size up against the rest of the team? let's find out. tyson: mark, first up... mercury. mercury. represented by a bead. in correct size relative to the sun. here we go. tyson: miniscule mercury may be small but its diameter is still twice as big as puny pluto's. next up, venus-- you have the honor. thank you. tyson: venus, represented by this tiny rubber ball, has a diameter five times as big as pluto. earth. earth. tyson: earth, the big blue marble is six times as wide as pluto. earth and venus were about an inch; mars would be about a half inch-- the sizes of these gumdrops, relative to the sun. tyson: but it still trounces pluto three to one. jupiter. jupiter. king of the planets. king of the planets. you have the honor. there you go. tyson: the largest planet king jupiter

represented by a schoolyard kickball is a whopping 62 times as wide as pipsqueak pluto. saturn. saturn. the size of a bowling ball relative to the sun. tyson: pluto doesn't fare much better against my favorite planet saturn or its next-door neighbor. uranus. uranus. represented by a bocce ball. you ever play bocce? no, i've never played bocce. neither have i. (both laugh) tyson: it would take 22 plutos on a chain to equal the diameter of one uranus. croquet, anyone? what do you have now? neptune. neptune. why don't you have the honor? tyson: big blue neptune is 21 times as wide as pluto. last and least? and not least. we have pluto. represented by a ball bearing removed from a roller skate. ah. sometimes the most valuable things are in the smallest packages. there you go.

excellent. pluto. tyson: pluto's diameter is just under 1,500 miles. in fact, if it ever decided to visit america it would stretch only from california to kansas. no matter how you look at it pluto makes a scrawny little planet. pluto's really puny, right? but so is mercury. pluto's a lot punier-- 1/20th the mass of mercury. of mercury. gingerich: that's less than the mass of the moon. touchdown right there. (laughing) tyson: if we were to keep score of pluto's oddball traits versus its planetlike characteristics, how would it add up? brian thinks pluto's puny size disqualifies it from the planet team. so he gives one touchdown and, of course, the extra point to pluto the oddball. this is ridiculous. marsden: it's not ridiculous. tyson: mark disagrees. for him, size is less important than shape.

pluto, like every player on our planet team, is round and not potato-shaped like nearly all asteroids. this sequence of images taken by the hubble space telescope, shows pluto as a sphere with a textured surface. sykes: when we fly our spaceship to pluto we will arrive at a round world that has an atmosphere that has bright and dark areas on the surface. and it will look much more like objects we call planets than these little irregular inert objects we call asteroids. so, roundness... you give it a full touchdown. yeah. two touchdowns. (all laughing) tyson: but then again... we all know pluto's got this really weird orbit. first of all, it's tipped. the most tipped orbit. what's that worth to you? marsden: not too much. a field goal; not quite a touchdown. that isn't really the problem.

i think the problem was crossing the orbit of neptune. tyson: pluto's orbit isn't just tipped, it's highly elliptical-- not nearly circular like other planets-- which actually forces pluto to cross the orbit of another planet. that's bad. that is really bad. nobody else does that. there you go touchdown right there. another seven points for the oddball team. one way you might define a planet is that it ought to have a moon but of course mercury and venus don't have moons. and guess what? tiny little pluto does. in fact, it has three. one of those moons, charon, is so large compared with pluto that they both orbit a point in space in between them. which might make you wonder, which one is the planet? the idea of planets orbiting planets isn't really so foreign. we see many double stars out there and we see galaxies orbiting galaxies. the solar system is such a complicated place it's very important to understand

there is this richness out there. so, brian, if we go there and we find out pluto has mountains or craters or an atmosphere it's got world properties that match other objects we are happy to call planets. i'm able to use the word "world" if you like, but "planet"? tyson: so, then, what is pluto? four billion miles from the sun, our best images of pluto and its moons are nothing more than a blur. by analyzing the light reflected from pluto's surface, planetary scientists think that a day on pluto might look like this: an icy, frosty winter's night in the arctic; the sun a tiny pinpoint in a pitch-black sky; wispy clouds and fog visible on the horizon; the temperature about 300 degrees below zero. no spacecraft has yet visited pluto.

until one does it will remain a mystery. both of you are wrong. and no scoreboard today is going to change that. (explosion) it was time for me to take a closer look at why an oddball like pluto was considered a planet in the first place. it's a tale that begins back in 1894 when a new england aristocrat by the name of percival lowell built a private observatory near flagstaff, arizona, with one goal in mind: to find life on mars. after years of searching in vain, lowell turned his attention to an unsolved mystery: the hunt for a distant planet whose gravity seemed to be causing disturbances in neptune's orbit. he called this hypothetical object planet x. lowell spent the rest of his life trying to find it but never did.

after his death, the task was given to the unlikeliest of planet hunters, a self-educated farm boy who attended a one-room schoolhouse. clyde tombaugh's first job in astronomy included cleaning telescopes and sweeping up at the lowell observatory. he spent the rest of his time searching for the mysterious planet x. every few nights he placed a photosensitive glass plate on the telescope securing it so it would not shift. then he exposed the plate for two hours to the universe. during that time the motorized telescope slowly moved to compensate for earth's rotation. several days later he'd retrace his steps, taking pictures of the same section of the sky he had photographed earlier. then, using an ingenious device called a blink comparator,

clyde tombaugh aligned the two images to carefully examine their differences. the blink comparator enabled him to shift back and forth, searching for the subtlest of changes. although the human eye is good at spotting differences, finding a dim celestial object billions of miles away was a daunting task. after searching for almost a year, a determined clyde finally found a tiny dot slowly moving across the night sky. can you see it? here it is. a month later the lowell observatory proudly announced that a young assistant had fulfilled percival lowell's dream. clyde tombaugh had finally found planet x.

the day after the announcement the news hit the front page of the new york times. soon the discovery was heralded worldwide. but the new planet needed a name. across the atlantic, an 11-year-old english schoolgirl would come up with one. on march 14, 1930, venetia burney's grandfather, a librarian at oxford, was reading the morning newspaper and came across the story. an american has just discovered a new planet. i wonder what they'll call it. tyson: venetia had just finished studying the roman gods and jumped at the opportunity to name it after the god of the underworld. they could call it pluto. pluto. perhaps... yes.

tyson: her grandfather thought that was a splendid idea, so he wrote a note to the lowell observatory. the director at lowell liked it, especially because pluto's official symbol would be the overlapping letters p and l, the initials of the observatory's long-gone founder, the man who started the search for planet x, percival lowell. for most americans the name "pluto" didn't exactly conjure up affection. it was associated with a well-known laxative called "pluto water," a popular product that promised "relief from constipation in 30 minutes to two hours." its slogan: "when nature won't pluto will." but the name would soon get a makeover... and it would come from a young animator by the name of walt disney.

shortly after planet pluto was discovered the fledgling disney brothers studio came up with a new character... (barking) a playful bloodhound named pluto the pup. walt probably wasn't thinking about constipation when he named mickey's new pal back in 1931. my journey would lead me south to a magical place to meet with a celebrity on a tight schedule. pluto! hey! it's great to see you! thanks for making time for this. can we pose for a picture? was walt thinking planet when he gave his pup a name? maybe roy patrick disney walt's great-nephew can help answer this question. i wonder whether walt jumped on the opportunity to name this new character after

this new cosmic object. is there any evidence for that in the archives? there's no direct evidence. there's a lot of anecdotal evidence. i think it's fate; i don't think it's an accident. you feel deep inside that walt was thinking of the planet. yes. he was fascinated with space and space exploration and walt did four tv shows about space and all of them made space exploration and science accessible to kids including myself. when he did his man in space series in 1956, '57 america wasn't committed to a space program. i know for a fact that many people who wound up working at nasa were inspired to do so by watching those television shows. he made learning fun. tyson: i am certain pluto the dog added some kind of warm and fuzzy feeling for this cosmic object. cosmic objects don't normally trigger warm and fuzzy feelings.

pluto, have you ever looked through a telescope before? no? i brought one. isn't it cool? now, it's daytime, so you can't see much, but let me show you how it works. what do you think of that? did you see something? you did? try again. tyson: whether or not walt was thinking about the cosmos when he named his dog doesn't really matter. good boy! good dog! the seeds were sown for the tiniest of planets to get the kind of attention no other planet had, all because of this lovable pup. but i shouldn't give credit to the dog alone. next stop on my journey: streator, illinois...

the hometown of clyde tombaugh. they love him so much, main street is named after him. there's a mural in the center of town that compares his discovery of pluto with the accomplishments of copernicus and galileo. his life is chronicled at the local historical society, where one of his homemade telescopes is on display. there's even a plaque dedicated to him in front of city hall. clyde is a local hero. just about everyone around here can tell you his life story. next victim-- i mean customer-- please. (laughing) how you doing? doing well. tyson: right now i'm on a pilgrimage, actually to try to understand clyde tombaugh. clyde tombaugh? he's from streator and he discovered pluto. tyson: that's what i heard.

we're very proud of him, very proud of him, what he did. tyson: and you learned about him in high school? elementary school. third grade maybe. because that's when most people first learn about the planets. and then... so, his name comes up and you learn he's a local guy. streator boy makes good, so to speak. back in third grade i thought, "wow, that's astounding from streator, found pluto." tyson: you feel some pride. oh, you bet. always did. always had something to point to as far as... look at there, that guy, he discovered pluto. and he's from our area. walt disney named a dog after him. there you go. so, how do you feel about pluto, dr. tyson? tyson: in the eyes of the townfolk of streator, illinois, tombaugh's discovery is not only part of their history, it's a piece of american history as well as world history. it was the ancient greeks who classified what we call the moon, the sun mercury, venus, mars jupiter and saturn as planetes which means "the wanderers" in english.

they imagined earth as a hub around which these planets revolved. in 1543, the polish astronomer nicolaus copernicus published his revolutionary idea that the sun did not circle earth but instead earth and its lone moon circles the sun along with the rest of the planets. by the 17th century, the italian astronomer galileo galilei discovered jupiter's four largest moons. meanwhile, dutchman christiaan huygens identified saturn's rings and discovered titan its largest moon. italian astronomer giovanni cassini one-upped him when he discovered four more. in the 18th century, englishman william herschel discovered uranus, although he originally called it the georgian star after his king, george iii. can you imagine a planet named george? the british and french are still

fighting over who deserves the credit for predicting the location of neptune. some give the honor to john couch adams, while others say urbain le verrier deserves it. but there's no doubt that german astronomer johann gottfried galle found it. the discovery of pluto finally added an american, clyde tombaugh, to this short but esteemed list of planet hunters. so the folks in streator, illinois, told me that in new mexico there are still some tombaughs there. that's where clyde moved after discovering pluto. clyde's no longer with us, but his 97-year-old widow and both his son and daughter still live there. so i decided i had to check it out. whoa, that's a lot of tombaughs. all: hi. tyson: how many of you are there? (laughing) hello, everyone. all: hi. annette tombaugh i'm clyde's daughter. what an honor, my gosh. and this is my brother....

neil, al tombaugh. i'm clyde's son. tyson: al, pleasure. and this is my mother, patricia tombaugh. this is clyde's wife. it is an honor hello. yes, i've been looking forward to this. that could be... i don't know what that means. (all laughing) so, tell me about clyde as a person. he was the oldest of six children, so he was born to help on the farm. but he did not want to be a farmer. annette: he had not had the opportunity to go to college. so what you're saying is that he discovered pluto without ever having yet gone to college. no, he was straight off the farm. patricia: lowell observatory wanted somebody they didn't have to pay very much to do this job. what do you think they pay you for finding a planet? (all laughing) annette: after discovering pluto, he got a college scholarship which he would not have otherwise had, and, of course, he was supposed to be the big hero

but he didn't feel like the big hero. dad was a little embarrassed about the fame. he didn't like the limelight. he was humble. absolutely. so what was he like just as a dad? was he like a weird dad? or did you think all dads were like that? no, i knew he was very different. one of the things, we did have his grinding barrel to make telescopes in the kitchen. this is the barrel that grinds glass into the shape of a mirror. right-- yes, in the kitchen. how mother ever put up with that i don't know. we had grinding material in our food, and mother's trying to cook around this situation. well, finally she made daddy move out of the kitchen and he got a shop. (laughing) well, that... that's good. tyson: you mean to tell me you have some of clyde's original telescopes here? whoa! these were his original telescopes. original telescopes built by my dad. very hand-made. built out of old farm machinery car parts and whatever he could find.

we'll just push it out here. i'll help you push. you bet. so, al, i don't recognize any hardware on this at all. (chuckling) the tube itself is probably part of an old grain elevator. how about the base? well, the base is an old cream separator. the axle is off an early model buick. so there's a buick out there now without an axel. this counterweight was probably a flywheel from an early piece of farm equipment, maybe even steam powered-- we're not sure. i see a coke can. (chuckling): i love this. so we got the open end of the telescope at the top. and light comes down reflects off the curved mirror and light reflects back and comes to an eyepiece under that coke can. and if we wiggle this coke can a little bit like this there's the eyepiece. we're ready to go. there it is. all right, this isn't the only telescope i see back here, al. no, there's a couple others. let me pull this one out for you. okay.

this has got to be the most homemade-looking telescope i have ever seen. is this a lawn mower? that is a lawn mower base. this is what the family has called the grazer gazer. he looked at this and said "it's got wheels got a hale. we need to put a telescope on that so i can push it around." how to make a portable telescope. absolutely. he built it strictly on a utilitarian base out of what he had which was thin plywood and miscellaneous pieces of wood. this is insane. this just rotates. exactly. what impresses me is that he didn't care what this thing looked like as long as the image of the universe came out sharp. right, aesthetics didn't mean a whole lot. (both laughing) tyson: on my way out of town, i stopped at a local church, where there's a tribute to clyde tombaugh... a stained-glass window that celebrates his life.