Abstract
In 1930 Clyde Tombaugh, at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, was carrying out a systematic search for a planet moving beyond the orbit of Neptune using a telescope which had been obtained specially for the purpose. The existence of “Planet X” had been predicted by Percival Lowell, founder of the Observatory, from slight irregularities in the movements of Neptune and (particularly) Uranus. It was not long before Tombaugh found a body not far from the position given by Lowell. It was certainly moving far beyond Neptune, and was thought to be considerably larger than the Earth. Naturally, it was assumed to be a planet, and it was named after the God of the Underworld. (Conveniently, the symbol, PL, also fitted in with Percival Lowell’s name.)
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Moore, P. (2010). The Problem of Pluto. In: The Sky at Night. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6409-0_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6409-0_16
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