Pluto: the discovery of the planet and the recognition of its dwarf
In 1845, observations of Uranus showed that the gravitational influence on him by Neptune is not enough to explain the peculiarities of its movement. To search for an unknown planet in 1894, American amateur astronomer Percival Lovell founded a private observatory where he attracted professional astronomers and funded the unsuccessful search for the mysterious Planet X for the next 23 years.
After Lovell's death, her search did not stop and in 1928 the director of the observatory assigned them to 23-year-old amateur astronomer Clyde Tombo. He took photographs of the starry sky using a 13-inch astrograph and a comparative analysis of photographs to search for objects that have changed their position.
This allowed Tombo to discover hundreds of asteroids, comets and stars, and on February 18, 1930, he discovered a new planet in the constellation Gemini. After confirming the results by several other astronomers, March 13, the anniversary of the birth of Lovell and William Herschel, Tombo announced his discovery.
For the discovery of the planet, May 1, 1930 called Pluto, the scientist was awarded many international awards. In 1932 he entered the University of Kansas, after which he continued to work at the Lovell Observatory, and from 1943 he began teaching.
For a long time, scientists considered Pluto to be the very "Planet X", the existence of which Lovell had predicted. However, in 1971, Pluto’s satellite, Charon, was discovered, which made it possible to calculate its mass and diameter, which turned out to be 5 and 2 times smaller than Earth’s, respectively.
This laid the first doubts among astronomers as to whether Pluto could be considered a planet. After at the beginning of the 20th century, scientists found a large number of objects commensurate with Pluto, in 2006, at the XXVI Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, scientists transferred Pluto to the category of dwarf planets.
After Lovell's death, her search did not stop and in 1928 the director of the observatory assigned them to 23-year-old amateur astronomer Clyde Tombo. He took photographs of the starry sky using a 13-inch astrograph and a comparative analysis of photographs to search for objects that have changed their position.
This allowed Tombo to discover hundreds of asteroids, comets and stars, and on February 18, 1930, he discovered a new planet in the constellation Gemini. After confirming the results by several other astronomers, March 13, the anniversary of the birth of Lovell and William Herschel, Tombo announced his discovery.
Photo © jnsm.com.ua
For the discovery of the planet, May 1, 1930 called Pluto, the scientist was awarded many international awards. In 1932 he entered the University of Kansas, after which he continued to work at the Lovell Observatory, and from 1943 he began teaching.
For a long time, scientists considered Pluto to be the very "Planet X", the existence of which Lovell had predicted. However, in 1971, Pluto’s satellite, Charon, was discovered, which made it possible to calculate its mass and diameter, which turned out to be 5 and 2 times smaller than Earth’s, respectively.
This laid the first doubts among astronomers as to whether Pluto could be considered a planet. After at the beginning of the 20th century, scientists found a large number of objects commensurate with Pluto, in 2006, at the XXVI Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, scientists transferred Pluto to the category of dwarf planets.
