Pluto Day, and the Weird West Michigan Connection
When I was your age, Pluto was a planet.
February 18 is Pluto Day. It’s the day we celebrate the planet dwarf planet Pluto, and its discovery on February 18, 1930. And there’s a West Michigan connection.
Who Discovered Pluto?
Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto. He used a telescope and photographic plates to compare images from days apart. He realized that a celestial body was moving. That celestial body is known as Pluto.
Why Isn’t Pluto a Planet?
Pluto was classified as a planet until 2006. Astronomers reclassified it as a dwarf planet, saying that it didn’t meet the definition of planet. A planet orbits a star, and it clears its orbital path of celestial objects. Pluto orbits a star, but it still has celestial neighbors in its path. That makes it one of five dwarf planets in the solar system.
What Does West Michigan Have to Do With Pluto?
Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Oh, you mean like Lowell, Michigan? Sorta, kinda, yes!
Percival Lowell was an American business person and astronomy enthusiast (1855-1916). He moved from Boston - where the Lowell family settled in the United States after moving from England in the 1600s.
Lowell, Michigan also gets its name from the Lowell family of Boston - not through Percival Lowell directly, but through other extended family. The Lowell, Michigan name is believed to have been suggested by someone who had recently returned from a trip to Lowell, Massachusetts.
(Image: The astronomy symbol of Pluto.)
Percival Lowell and the Discovery of Pluto
Percival Lowell moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, opening his observatory, the Lowell Observatory. He chose Flagstaff for the clear nights and lack of light pollution. He started the search for Planet X in 1905.
Astronomers believed Planet X (Pluto) existed because they noted gravitational pull on Uranus and Neptune. They calculated its likely location and started their search.
Pervical Lowell died in 1916 without finding it.
Tombaugh finished the search when he discovered Pluto in 1930.
Lowell, Michigan
Lowell Michigan was founded in 1831 as a trading post on the Grand River. It is 15 miles east of Grand Rapids. Daniel Marsac purchased land, which he called Dansville. In 1851, the local post office was named Dansville. In 1861, it was incorporated as a village.
Pluto and the West Michigan Connection
The Lowell family fanned out from Boston, becoming involved in business and politics. So now you know - the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, where Pluto was discovered, is the same Lowell family that Lowell, Michigan gets its name from.
How are you celebrating Pluto Day? My Very Elderly Mother Just Served Us Nine…oh wait - it’s not a planet.