Clyde William Tombaugh (February 4, 1906 January 17, 1997) was an American astronomer.
After his family moved to Burdett, Kansas, in 1922, Tombaugh's plans for attending college were frustrated when a [ruined his family's farm crops.
Starting in 1926, he built several telescopes with lenses and mirrors by himself.
Tombaugh worked there from 1929 to 1945. Following his discovery of Pluto, Tombaugh earned bachelor's and master's degrees in astronomy from the University of Kansas in 1936 and 1938.
He discovered hundreds of asteroids, beginning with 2839 Annette in 1929, mostly as a by-product of his search for Pluto and his searches for other celestial objects.
He discovered Pluto in 1930, the first object to be discovered in what would later be identified as the Kuiper belt.
The discovery was made on Tuesday, February 18, 1930, using images taken the previous month. Three classical mythological names were about equally popular among proposals for the new planet: Minerva, Cronus and Pluto.
The name was officially adopted on May 1, 1930. Following the discovery, it was recognized that Pluto wasn't massive enough to be the expected ninth planet, and some astronomers began to consider it the first of a new class of object – and indeed Tombaugh searched for additional Trans-Neptunian objects for years, though due to the lack of any further discoveries he concluded that Pluto was indeed a planet.
In 1980 he was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame. The asteroid 1604 Tombaugh, discovered in 1931, is named after him.
The Royal Astronomical Society awarded him the Jackson-Gwilt Medal in 1931. Direct visual observation became rare in astronomy.
Tombaugh worked there from 1929 to 1945. Following his discovery of Pluto, Tombaugh earned bachelor's and master's degrees in astronomy from the University of Kansas in 1936 and 1938.
Tombaugh worked there from 1929 to 1945. Following his discovery of Pluto, Tombaugh earned bachelor's and master's degrees in astronomy from the University of Kansas in 1936 and 1938.
Their apparent lack of obedience to the ordinary laws of celestial motion gives credence." In 1949, Tombaugh had also told the Naval missile director at White Sands Missile Range, Commander Robert McLaughlin, that he had seen a bright flash on Mars on August 27, 1941, which he now attributed to an atomic blast.
In the fourteen years of looking for planets, until he was drafted in July 1943, Tombaugh looked for motion in 90 million star images (two each of 45 million stars). ==Asteroids discovered== Tombaugh is officially credited by the Minor Planet Center with discovering 15 asteroids, and he observed nearly 800 asteroids during his search for Pluto and years of follow-up searches looking for another candidate for the postulated Planet X.
Tombaugh worked there from 1929 to 1945. Following his discovery of Pluto, Tombaugh earned bachelor's and master's degrees in astronomy from the University of Kansas in 1936 and 1938.
The object executed the same maneuvers as in Tombaugh's first sighting. Tombaugh later reported having seen three of the mysterious green fireballs, which suddenly appeared over New Mexico in late 1948 and continued at least through the early 1950s.
On August 20, 1949, Tombaugh saw several unidentified objects near Las Cruces, New Mexico.
In my 1949 sightings the faintness of the object, together with the manner of fading in intensity as it traveled away from the zenith towards the southeastern horizon, is quite suggestive of a reflection from an optical boundary or surface of slight contrast in refractive index, as in an inversion layer. I have never seen anything like it before or since, and I have spent a lot of time where the night sky could be seen well.
Their apparent lack of obedience to the ordinary laws of celestial motion gives credence." In 1949, Tombaugh had also told the Naval missile director at White Sands Missile Range, Commander Robert McLaughlin, that he had seen a bright flash on Mars on August 27, 1941, which he now attributed to an atomic blast.
He worked at White Sands Missile Range in the early 1950s, and taught astronomy at New Mexico State University from 1955 until his retirement in 1973.
The object executed the same maneuvers as in Tombaugh's first sighting. Tombaugh later reported having seen three of the mysterious green fireballs, which suddenly appeared over New Mexico in late 1948 and continued at least through the early 1950s.
Tombaugh stated that he had observed celestial phenomena which he could not explain, but had seen none personally since 1951 or 1952.
Tombaugh stated that he had observed celestial phenomena which he could not explain, but had seen none personally since 1951 or 1952.
Tombaugh also noted that the first atomic bomb tested in New Mexico would have lit up the dark side of the Earth like a neon sign and that Mars was coincidentally quite close at the time, the implication apparently being that the atomic test would have been visible from Mars. In June 1952, Dr.
Tombaugh also told Hynek that his telescopes were at the Air Force's disposal for taking photos of UFOs, if he was properly alerted. ==Near-Earth satellite search== Tombaugh's offer may have led to his involvement in a search for near-Earth satellites, first announced in late 1953 and sponsored by the Army Office of Ordnance Research.
However, according to Donald Keyhoe, later director of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), the real reason for the sudden search was because two near-Earth orbiting objects had been picked up on new long-range radar in the summer of 1953, according to his Pentagon source. By May 1954, Keyhoe was making public statements that his sources told him the search had indeed been successful, and either one or two objects had been found.
Another public statement was made on the search in March 1954, emphasizing the rationale that such an orbiting object would serve as a natural space station.
However, according to Donald Keyhoe, later director of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), the real reason for the sudden search was because two near-Earth orbiting objects had been picked up on new long-range radar in the summer of 1953, according to his Pentagon source. By May 1954, Keyhoe was making public statements that his sources told him the search had indeed been successful, and either one or two objects had been found.
However, the story did not break until August 23, 1954, when Aviation Week magazine stated that two satellites had been found only 400 and 600 miles out.
He worked at White Sands Missile Range in the early 1950s, and taught astronomy at New Mexico State University from 1955 until his retirement in 1973.
The October 1955 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine reported: "Professor Tombaugh is closemouthed about his results.
I think that several reputable scientists are being unscientific in refusing to entertain the possibility of extraterrestrial origin and nature." Shortly after this, in January 1957, in an Associated Press article in the Alamogordo Daily News titled "Celestial Visitors May Be Invading Earth's Atmosphere", Tombaugh was again quoted on his sightings and opinion about them.
He adds that there is no connection between the search program and the reports of so-called flying saucers." At a meteor conference in Los Angeles in 1957, Tombaugh reiterated that his four-year search for "natural satellites" had been unsuccessful.
In 1959, Tombaugh was to issue a final report stating that nothing had been found in his search.
He worked at White Sands Missile Range in the early 1950s, and taught astronomy at New Mexico State University from 1955 until his retirement in 1973.
In 1980 he was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame. The asteroid 1604 Tombaugh, discovered in 1931, is named after him.
In 1980, Tombaugh and Patrick Moore wrote a book Out of the Darkness: The Planet Pluto.
The idea that Pluto was not a true planet remained a minority position until the discovery of other Kuiper belt objects in the late 1990s, which showed that it did not orbit alone but was at best the largest of a number of icy bodies in its region of space.
Levy Clyde Tombaugh: Discoverer of the Planet Pluto (Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press, 1991).
In August 1992, JPL scientist Robert Staehle called Tombaugh, requesting permission to visit his planet.
No more trans-Neptunian objects were discovered until 15760 Albion in 1992. However, more recently the relatively bright object has been discovered.
Clyde William Tombaugh (February 4, 1906 January 17, 1997) was an American astronomer.
Following the passage of Pluto by New Horizons on July 14, 2015, the "Heart of Pluto" was named Tombaugh Regio. ===Death=== Tombaugh died on January 17, 1997, in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the age of 90, and he was cremated.
At the time of discovery, Pluto was considered a planet, but was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006.
"I told him he was welcome to it", Tombaugh later remembered, "though he's got to go one long, cold trip." The call eventually led to the launch of the New Horizons space probe to Pluto in 2006.
After it was shown that at least one such body was more massive than Pluto, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reclassified Pluto on August 24, 2006, as a dwarf planet, leaving eight planets in the Solar System. Tombaugh's widow Patricia stated after the IAU's decision that while he might have been disappointed with the change since he had resisted attempts to remove Pluto's planetary status in his lifetime, he would have accepted the decision now if he were alive.
When the hero arrives on Pluto he reflects ==See also== Tombaugh (Martian crater) Tombaugh Cliffs Tombaugh Regio ==References== ==Sources== Falk, Dan, "More than a one-hit wonder", Astronomy, February 2006, 40–45. David H.
; also Sky Publishing Corporation, March 2006. ==External links== Clyde Tombaugh papers at New Mexico State University Many biographical articles on Clyde Tombaugh Biography, Interviews, Photo Gallery of Clyde Tombaugh, achievement.org Illinois proposes a Pluto Day and reinstate Pluto as a Planet in honor of C.
Following the passage of Pluto by New Horizons on July 14, 2015, the "Heart of Pluto" was named Tombaugh Regio. ===Death=== Tombaugh died on January 17, 1997, in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the age of 90, and he was cremated.
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