How Pluto Was Discovered
Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh found Pluto on February 18, 1930.
Tombaugh worked as an astronomer at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. He was given the task of finding a trans-Neptunian object which was predicted by Percival Lowell and William Pickering – the search for Planet X. Tombaugh used a tool called a blink comparator to study two images of the same region of the sky taken several nights apart. He would display one image and then blink to the second image to see if any objects had moved from night to night.
And so on February 18, 1930, Tombaugh turned up just such an object moving at the right speed to be the unknown Planet X.
Tombaugh worked as an astronomer at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. He was given the task of finding a trans-Neptunian object which was predicted by Percival Lowell and William Pickering – the search for Planet X. Tombaugh used a tool called a blink comparator to study two images of the same region of the sky taken several nights apart. He would display one image and then blink to the second image to see if any objects had moved from night to night.
And so on February 18, 1930, Tombaugh turned up just such an object moving at the right speed to be the unknown Planet X.
Meaning
Pluto is thought to be the god to whom all men must eventually go. Romans believed him to be the god of the underworld. To the Greeks, he was known as Hades.
How Pluto Got Its Name
When Pluto was discovered in 1930, many people wrote in suggesting names for the new planet. Some suggestions were Cronus, Persephone, Erebus, Atlas, and Prometheus. Eleven-year-old Venetia Burney suggested the name Pluto. She thought it would be a good name since Pluto is so dark and far away, like the god of the underworld. On May 1, 1930, the name Pluto became official, and the little girl received a £5 note as a reward.