"Oh Pluto" Will Tug at Your Heartstrings

By Nancy Atkinson - June 23, 2015 at 1:17 PM UTC | Planetary Science

I'm as guilty as anyone for anthropomorphizing Pluto -- as well as spacecraft like New Horizons, which is currently preparing to fly by the dwarf planet. But since spacecraft are really just extensions of ourselves, perhaps I can be forgiven for my non-scientific projections.

But now I know I'm among friends.

A new song by folk musician

Craig Werth

called "Oh Pluto" is "inspired by NASA's New Horizons Mission to Pluto and the quest for knowledge and understanding in the human spirit," says Werth. The song underscores how we want to "grow our understanding, to learn all that we can."

A noble goal, indeed.

Look for some familiar faces in the video.

Werth is joined on "Oh Pluto" by other notables Christine Lavin, Emily Bindiger and Grammy-winner, Julie Gold.

New Horizons is also inspiring other works of art, such as

poetry by our pal Stu Atkinson

who says "Soon we will Know You; soon we will swoon to pin-sharp views."

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com