My Dad Discovered Pluto

  • By Alden Tombaugh
  • Posted 01.01.10
  • NOVA

The date February 18, 1930 probably doesn't stand out particularly in your mind, but it certainly does in mine. For that's the day my father, Clyde Tombaugh, a farmboy-turned-astronomer, discovered Pluto, becoming the first American to find a planet. In this slide show of old family photos, follow the trajectory of my father's remarkable career, which, in its way, began and ended at Pluto.

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How did Clyde Tombaugh go from baling hay to finding Pluto? See family photos and hear his son Alden reflect.

Credits

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(all)
Courtesy Alden Tombaugh

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