How would you feel if you were the one to discover another planet in
our solar system? You would be proud, right? . Read the following
story on how Pluto was discovered and who took part in the discovery.
As you read, you will see that it was not easy to declare Pluto a
planet. There was much confrontation on it even existing.
Pluto was a planet who know one thought even existed until 1930. The
discovery of Neptune opened a broader idea that there could be another
planet lurking further out. This idea began with a man by the name of
Percival Lowell. He believed in a "planet x" being somewhere in the
outer reaches of our solar system. The reason for his belief in such
was based on calculations done with the study of motions of Uranus
and Neptune. Lowell funded three searches for such a planet and set
up the Lowell observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Even though discouraged
by the first two searches, efforts to find the planet continued.
Dr. Vesto Slipher, the observatory director, hired a young 24-year-old
man from Kansas, by the name of Clyde Tombaugh, to assist in the third
go around. Tombaugh conducted a survey of the sky by taking sets of
photograghs, each one two weeks apart. Shifting of any object against
the backdrop of the stars indicates the presence of a planetary body.
Through this procedure, Pluto was discovered. In 1930, Pluto was
officially named and labeled as the ninth planet by the International
Astronomical Union. Pluto’s name is said to have been based on the
Roman go of the underworld, Hades. Also, rumors have been said, to
be the initials of the man who carved the path to discovery. The one
and only Percival Lowell (P.L.uto). Even though the discovery was made,
Calculations indicated that it is to small to be the "planet x" that
Lowell had been searching for. The size of it was too small to effect
the orbit of Neptune. As predicted, the search continued. However, the
search was found to be bogus and not needed. The calculations were
proven to be false and were resolved by the data from the voyager 2.
After the confrontation was solved, Pluto was said to be the tenth
planet and the last in our solar system to be discovered. I wonder if
there is any more planets out there. Is there a chance that there
could be another planet in our solar system yet to be discovered?
I guess we'll just have to wait and see.........
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