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Was Pluto Named After the Disney Dog?
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| Parent(s) |
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| Contributor | Scott³ |
| Last Edited | Scott³ Feb 18, 2013 07:08pm |
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| Category | News |
| Author | Carl Cannon |
| News Date | Tuesday, February 19, 2013 01:05:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | "Today is officially “Presidents' Day” on your calendar, but February 18 is also the date in history when Pluto was discovered at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz.
Percival Lowell, the founder of the observatory that bears his name, had long postulated on the existence of a 9th planet in our solar system. And although he died in 1916 before it could be found, the search for additional planets and asteroids continued in Flagstaff.
One of those doing the looking was 20-year-old Clyde W. Tombaugh, a Midwestern farm boy who had always been interested in the stars, not the earth. His college plans were delayed after a hailstorm destroyed the crops on his parents’ Kansas farm, but he was undeterred.
When he’d exhausted the limitations of his Sears & Roebuck-purchased telescope, young Clyde built one of his own. He mailed the specs to the scientists at Lowell Observatory seeking feedback. Instead, the impressed astronomers offered him a job, and off he went.
After finding a 9th planet on Feb. 18, 1930, scientists in Flagstaff were in no hurry to name it. The celestial body had been around for billions of years, so waiting a few weeks to get the name just right seemed prudent.". |
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