On February 18, 1930, Clyde Tombaugh, an American astronomer, discovered Pluto, which was then considered the ninth planet in our solar system. This discovery was a remarkable achievement for the young astronomer, who was just 24 years old at the time.
Tombaugh had been hired by the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, to search for a hypothetical "Planet X" that was believed to be causing perturbations in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. After nearly a year of painstaking work, comparing photographic plates of the night sky, Tombaugh finally spotted a tiny, moving object on February 18, 1930.
The discovery of Pluto made headlines around the world and brought instant fame to Tombaugh. The new planet was officially named Pluto, after the Roman god of the underworld, following a suggestion from an 11-year-old British girl named Venetia Burney.
Tombaugh continued his astronomical work and later taught astronomy at New Mexico State University. He also became an advocate for space exploration and was involved in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI).
Interestingly, in 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reclassified Pluto as a "dwarf planet" due to its small size and the discovery of other similar objects in the Kuiper Belt. Despite this change in status, Tombaugh's discovery remains a significant milestone in the history of astronomy and planetary science.
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