Clyde Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto, peers into an instrument. (Image credit: Lowell Observatory) Clyde William Tombaugh was born near Streator, Ill., on Feb. 4, 1906.

Clyde Tombaugh didn't set out to discover Pluto when he sent his sketches of the night sky to Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1929. More than anything, he just wanted to get off the ...

Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, an American astronomer at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. Cold, dark and distant, it was named after the Roman god of the underworld.

Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, an American astronomer at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. Cold, dark and distant, it was named after the Roman god of the underworld.

The name of Clyde Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto, is a step closer to being formally affixed to the planet’s most recognizable feature, a heart-shaped region that was informally called ...

Pluto was once considered the ninth planet in the solar system, it was demoted in 2006 to dwarf planet status. We explore this icy body in more detail here.

Clyde Tombaugh didn't set out to discover Pluto when he sent his sketches of the night sky to Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1929. More than anything, ...