On today’s date of February 18 in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh — an Illinois-born man in his early 20’s working at Lowell Observatory in Arizona — discovered a moving object on photographic plates taken weeks earlier. The object turned out to be Pluto.
A number of scientists had earlier theorized about the existence of the object, and Tombaugh was part of the observatory’s quest to find a mysterious Planet X they predicted existed. After further investigation confirmed Tombaugh’s discovery, news of it was released in March.
The discovery created excitement around the world, and the object’s name came from a suggestion by an eleven-year-old girl in Oxford, England — Venetia Burney — who had suggested the name to her grandfather who had passed it on to various contacts.
In recent years, scientists have changed the classification of Pluto because of its small size, so that the International Astronomical Union no longer classifies it as a “planet.” Instead, it is classified as a “dwarf planet.” For various reasons, including some that are sentimental, others have argued that Pluto should still be regarded as the ninth planet in our solar system.
There is another famous Pluto, i.e., Pluto the pup from Walt Disney. Like the debate about whether Pluto is a planet, there is no consensus on how Pluto the dog got his name. The cartoon dog was created in 1930 around the same time as the “planet” was named, although people dispute whether the planet was named after the cartoon, or whether the cartoon was named after the planet, or whether it is just a coincidence they have the same name. Cartoonists there at the creation are not sure where they got the name.
At least Pluto the dog does not have to worry about being downgraded from a cartoon. So let us celebrate the Pluto in the sky with the Pluto of our childhoods. Pluto is one of the more interesting Disney characters in that the cartoon character is portrayed as an animal. He does not talk, unlike the talking mice (i.e., Mickey and Minnie), talking ducks (Donald), or the talking dog Goofy. Enjoy.
If you are more interested in the celestial object, check out this PBS documentary on the Pluto “dwarf planet”
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