Patience on the part of young Clyde Tombaugh, an assistant astronomer, is what led him finally to discover the dwarf "planet" Pluto. For over seven decades, Pluto was considered the ninth planet of our solar system. Astronomers had already calculated a probable orbit for this “suspected” heavenly body, which they had never seen. But Tombaugh took up the search in March 1929. He examined scores of telescopic photographs, each showing tens of thousands of star images in pairs under the blink comparator, ...
2. Star By Star
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Staff
Persistence paid off for American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered the planet Pluto. After astronomers calculated a probable orbit for this "suspected" heavenly body, Tombaugh took up the search in March 1929. Time magazine recorded the investigation: "He examined scores of telescopic photographs each showing tens of thousands of star images in pairs under the dual microscope. It often took three days to scan a single pair. It was exhausting, eye-cracking work in his ...
