St. Louis Science Center: Astronomy Fact Of The Day: February 18, 2022

St. Louis MO

19 February, 2022

9:31 AM

Description

Press release from St. Louis Science Center: February 18, 2022 On this date in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh, a young astronomer from Kansas, discovered Pluto. Although Tombaugh had no formal education, he was hired by Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona to photograph the sky and hunt for the ninth planet. Less than 1 year into his search he succeeded in discovering Pluto. When Tombaugh passed, a small amount of his ashes was placed on the Pluto flyby mission New Horizons. This press release was produced by St. Louis Science Center. The views expressed here are the author's own.