Clyde Tombaugh 6663 225727395 2008-07-15T02:54:46Z Urhixidur 68509 /* Further search */ (136472) Makemake {{Infobox Person | name = Clyde William Tombaugh | image = ClydeTombaugh.jpg | caption = Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory | birth_date = {{birth date|1906|02|04}} | birth_place = [[Streator, Illinois]] | death_date = {{dda|1997|01|17|1906|02|04}} | death_place = [[Las Cruces, New Mexico]] | nationality = American | occupation = [[Astronomer]] | known_for = Discovery of [[Pluto]] }} '''Clyde William Tombaugh''' ([[February 4]],[[1906]] &ndash; [[January 17]], [[1997]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[astronomer]]. Tombaugh is best known for discovering the [[dwarf planet]] [[Pluto]] in [[1930]], but also discovered many [[asteroid]]s, and called for serious scientific research of [[unidentified flying object]]s. ==Biography== Tombaugh was born in [[Streator, Illinois|Streator]]<ref>{{cite book | last = Tombaugh | first = Clyde | coauthors = Patrick Moore | title = Out of the Darkness: The Planet Pluto | publisher = Stackpole Books | date = 1980 | location = Harrisburg, PA | pages = 17 | isbn = 0811711633}} "I was born on a farm near Streator, Illinois, on 4 February 1906."</ref>, [[LaSalle County, Illinois]]. After his family moved to [[Burdett, Kansas]], Tombaugh built his first [[telescope]] and sent drawings of his observations of [[Jupiter (planet)|Jupiter]] and [[Mars (planet)|Mars]] to the [[Lowell Observatory]]. These resulted in a job offer. Tombaugh was employed at the [[Lowell Observatory]] from [[1929]] to [[1945]]. Following his discovery of Pluto, Tombaugh earned astronomy degrees from the [[University of Kansas]] and [[Northern Arizona University]]. He worked at the [[White Sands Missile Range]] in the early 1950s, and taught astronomy at [[New Mexico State University]] from [[1955]] until his retirement in [[1973]]. He died in [[Las Cruces, New Mexico]], 1997 and was survived by his wife Patricia, daughter Annette and son Alden, a retired banker.<ref>{{cite web | last = Hill | first = Karl | title = Tombaugh Family Donates Astronomer's Papers to NMSU | publisher = Panorama | date = Summer 2001 | url = http://www.nmsu.edu/~ucomm/Panorama/summer2001/path.html | accessdate = 2007-02-28}}</ref> Tombaugh was an active [[Unitarian-Universalism|Unitarian-Universalist]]. The [[asteroid]] [[1604 Tombaugh]],<ref>{{cite web | title = (1604) Tombaugh | publisher = Asteroid Dynamic Site | url = http://hamilton.dm.unipi.it/cgi-bin/astdys/astibo?objects:Tombaugh;main | accessdate = 2007-02-28}}</ref> discovered in [[1931]], is named after him. He himself discovered 14 asteroids, beginning with 2839 Annette in [[1929]], mostly as a by-product of his search for Pluto and his further searches for other celestial objects. Tombaugh named some of them after his wife, children and grandchildren. The [[Royal Astronomical Society]] awarded him the [[Jackson-Gwilt Medal]] in [[1931]]. Some of his ashes are being carried on the [[New Horizons]] spacecraft which is traveling towards Pluto. ==Discovery of Pluto== [[Image:Lowell astrograph.jpg|thumb|150px|Tombaugh created his photographic plates using this 13-inch [[astrograph]].]] While a young researcher working for the [[Lowell Observatory]] in [[Flagstaff, Arizona]], Tombaugh was given the job to perform a systematic search for a [[Trans-Neptunian object|trans-Neptunian]] planet (also called [[Planet X]]), which had been predicted by [[Percival Lowell]] and [[William Henry Pickering|William Pickering]]. Tombaugh used the observatory's 13-inch [[astrograph]] to take photographs of the same section of sky several nights apart. He then used a [[blink comparator]] to compare the different images. When he shifted between the two images, a moving object, such as a planet, would appear to jump from one position to another, while the more distant objects such as stars would appear stationary. Tombaugh noticed such a moving object in his search, and subsequent observations showed it to be the object we call Pluto. The discovery was made on Tuesday, [[February 18]], [[1930]], using images taken in January of the same year. [[Image:Pluto discovery plates.png|thumb|left|250px|The photographic plates that were used to discover [[Pluto]] at [[apparent magnitude]] +15.4]] The name "Pluto" was suggested by [[Venetia Phair|Venetia Burney]], an 11-year-old [[England|English]] school girl who is still living in England as of [[2007]], and who therefore lived to see the reclassification of Pluto as a dwarf planet. It won out over numerous other suggestions partly because it was named after the [[Roman mythology|Roman]] [[Pluto (god)|god of the underworld]] (who was able to render himself invisible) and because [[Percival Lowell]]'s initials PL formed the first 2 letters. The name Pluto was officially adopted on [[1 May]] [[1930]]. Following the discovery of the [[Kuiper belt]] objects starting in the 1990s, Pluto began to be seen not as a planet orbiting alone at 40 [[AU]], but as the largest of a group of icy bodies in that region of space. After it was shown that at least one such body was larger than Pluto, on [[August 24]], [[2006]] the [[International Astronomical Union]] (IAU) reclassified Pluto, grouping it with two similarly sized "[[dwarf planet]]s" rather than with the eight "[[classical planets]]". Tombaugh's widow Patricia stated after the IAU's decision that while Clyde may 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. She notes that Clyde "was a scientist. He would understand they had a real problem when they start finding several of these things flying around the place."<ref>{{cite web | last = Associated Press | authorlink = Associated Press | title = Pluto Discoverer Saw It Coming, Says His Widow | publisher = CTV | date =2006-08-25 | url = http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060825/pluto_discoverer_widow_060825/20060825?hub=SciTech | accessdate = 2007-02-28}}</ref> ==Further search== Tombaugh continued searching for some years after the discovery of Pluto, and the lack of further discoveries left him satisfied that no other object of a comparable [[apparent magnitude]] existed near the [[ecliptic]]. No more Trans-Neptunian objects were discovered until {{mpl|(15760) 1992 QB|1}}, in [[1992]]. However, more recently the relatively bright object {{dp|Makemake}} has been discovered. It has a relatively high orbital [[inclination]], but at the time of Tombaugh's discovery of Pluto, Makemake was only a few degrees from the ecliptic near the border of [[Taurus (constellation)|Taurus]] and [[Auriga (constellation)|Auriga]]<ref>based on Minor Planet Center online Minor Planet Ephemeris Service: [[March 1]] [[1930]]: RA: 05h51m, Dec: +29.0</ref> at an apparent magnitude of 16.<ref name=FY9>{{cite web |title=HORIZONS Web-Interface |publisher=[http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov JPL Solar System Dynamics] |url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi?find_body=1&body_group=sb&sstr=2005FY9 |accessdate=2008-07-01}}</ref> Unfortunately, this position was also very near the [[galactic equator]], making it almost impossible to find such an object within the dense concentration of background stars of the [[Milky Way]]. ==Asteroids discovered== [[Image:Lowell blink comparator.jpg|thumb|150px|Tombaugh compared his photographic plates using this blink comparator.]] Tombaugh discovered a total of 14 [[asteroid]]s, during his search for Pluto and years of follow-up searches looking for another candidate for the postulated Planet X. Tombaugh is also credited with the discovery of comet C/1931 AN,<ref name=Levy2003>{{cite book |first=David |last=Levy |year=2003 |title=David Levy's guide to observing and discovering comets |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2AzBYCYV9ucC&pg=PA79&lpg=PA79&dq=Tombaugh+comet&source=web&ots=8hZAzaBTp9&sig=i03EREjUrvZem52NvunKbLfdkZQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result#PPA79,M1 |id=ISBN 0521520517 }}</ref> though its orbit is currently unknown. {| border="1" cellpadding="4" align="center" cellspacing="0" style="background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;" |+ Asteroids discovered by Tombaugh |- ! Designation !! Discovery |- | 2839 Annette || [[October 5]], [[1929]] |- | 2941 Alden || [[December 24]], [[1930]] |- | 3310 Patsy || [[October 9]], [[1931]] |- | 3583 Burdett || [[October 5]], [[1929]] |- | [[3754 Kathleen]] || [[March 16]], [[1931]] |- | 3775 Ellenbeth || [[October 6]], [[1931]] |- | 3824 Brendalee || [[October 5]], [[1929]] |- | 4510 Shawna || [[December 13]], [[1930]] |- | 4755 Nicky || [[October 6]], [[1931]] |- | 5701 Baltuck || [[November 3]], [[1929]] |- | (6618) 1936 SO || [[September 16]], [[1936]] |- | (7101) 1930 UX || [[October 17]], [[1930]] |- | {{mpl|(7150) 1929 TD|1}} || [[October 11]], [[1929]] |- | {{mpl|(8778) 1931 TD|3}} || [[October 10]], [[1931]] |} ==Interest in UFOs== Tombaugh was probably the most eminent astronomer to have reported seeing [[Unidentified Flying Object]]s and to support the [[Extraterrestrial hypothesis]]. On [[August 20]], [[1949]], Tombaugh saw several [[UFO]]s near [[Las Cruces, New Mexico]]. He described them as six to eight rectangular lights, stating: :"I doubt that the phenomenon was any terrestrial reflection, because... nothing of the kind has ever appeared before or since... I was so unprepared for such a strange sight that I was really petrified with astonishment."<ref>{{cite web | title = Clyde Tombaugh, Ph.D. | publisher = UFO Evidence | url = http://www.etcontact.net/researchers/detail107.htm | accessdate = 2007-02-28}}</ref> A similar shocked response has been reported by many others who claim to have seen mysterious aerial objects. Another sighting by Tombaugh a year or two later while at a White Sands observatory was of an object of -6 magnitude, four times brighter than Venus at its brightest, going from the zenith to the southern horizon in about 3 seconds. The object executed the same maneuvers as in Tombaugh's first sighting.<ref>{{cite book | last = Steiger | first = Brad | title = Project Blue Book | publisher = Ballantine Books | date = 1976 | pages = 280 | id = 0-345-34525-8}}</ref> Tombaugh was also later to report 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. Despite this, the final report of [[Green Fireballs|Project Twinkle]] &mdash; see [[#External links|external link]] &mdash; claimed that he "... never observed an unexplainable aerial object despite his continuous and extensive observations of the sky." In 1956 Tombaugh had the following to say about his various sightings: :"I have seen three objects in the last seven years which defied any explanation of known phenomenon, such as Venus, atmospheric optic, meteors or planes. I am a professional, highly skilled, professional astronomer. In addition I have seen three green fireballs which were unusual in behavior from normal green fireballs ... I think that several reputable scientists are being unscientific in refusing to entertain the possibility of [[extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] origin and nature."<ref>{{cite web | last = Ledger | first = Don | title = UFO UpDates | date = 2004-09-20 | url = http://virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2004/sep/m20-022.shtml | accessdate = 2007-02-28}}</ref> 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. :"Although our own solar system is believed to support no other life than on Earth, other stars in the galaxy may have hundreds of thousands of habitable worlds. Races on these worlds may have been able to utilize the tremendous amounts of power required to bridge the space between the stars..." Tombaugh said he has observed celestial phenomena which he could not explain, but has seen none personally since 1951 or 1952. "These things, which do appear to be directed, are unlike any other phenomena I ever observed. Their apparent lack of obedience to the ordinary laws of celestial motion gives credence."<ref>{{cite book | last = Clark | first = Jerry | title = UFO Encyclopedia: Volume 2 | publisher = | date = 1997 | pages = 896}}</ref> 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 in August 1941, which he now attributed to an atomic blast.<ref>{{cite web | last = McLaughlin | first = Robert | title = Letter from Robert McLaughlin to James van Allen | publisher = Roswell Proof | date = 1949-05-12 | url = http://www.roswellproof.com/McLaughlin_Van_Allen_letter.html | accessdate = 2007-02-28}}</ref> 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. [[J. Allen Hynek]], an astronomer acting as a scientific consultant to the Air Force's [[Project Blue Book]] UFO study, secretly conducted a survey of fellow astronomers on UFO sightings and attitudes while attending an astronomy convention. Tombaugh and four other astronomers told Hynek about their sightings, including Dr. [[Lincoln LaPaz]] of the University of New Mexico. Tombaugh also told Hynek that his telescopes were at the Air Force's disposal for taking photos of UFOs, if he was properly alerted.<ref>{{cite book | last = Steiger | first = Brad | title = Project Blue Book | publisher = Ballantine Books | date = 1976 | pages = 268 - 285 | id = 0-345-34525-8}}</ref> ==Near-Earth satellite search== [[Image:Tombaugh Lapaz 3 3 1954.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Clyde Tombaugh (left) discussing search for near-Earth satellites with Dr. [[Lincoln LaPaz]] (right), [[3 March]] [[1954]]. Photo from Albuquerque ''Journal'']] Tombaugh's offer may have led to his involvement in a search for near-Earth [[satellite]]s, first announced in late 1953 and sponsored by the Army Office of Ordnance Research. Another public statement was made on the search in March 1954 (photo at right), emphasizing the rationale that such an orbiting object would serve as a natural [[space station]].<ref>{{Citation | title = Armed Forces Seeks "Steppingstone to Stars" | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | pages = | year = 1954 | date = 1954-03-04 | url = http://www.roswellproof.com/Satellites_LATimes_SciNL_1954.html}}</ref> 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 [[The Pentagon|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.<ref>{{Citation | title = 1 or 2 Artificial Satellites Circling Earth, Says Expert | newspaper = San Francisco Examiner | pages = 14 | year = 1954 | date = 1954-05-14 | url = http://www.roswellproof.com/Satellites_Keyhoe_May1954.html}}</ref> However, the story didn't really break until [[August 23]], [[1954]], when ''[[Aviation Week]]'' magazine stated that two satellites had been found only 400 and 600 miles out. They were termed "natural satellites" and implied that they had been recently captured, despite this being a virtual impossibility. The next day, the story was in many major newspapers. Dr. LaPaz was implicated in the discovery in addition to Tombaugh. LaPaz had earlier conducted secret investigations on behalf of the Air Force on the [[green fireballs]] and other unidentified aerial phenomena over New Mexico. LaPaz vehemently denied his involvement in the search, although the ''[[New York Times]]'' reported on [[August 29]] that a source close to the project said that the story was true and LaPaz was indeed involved, in fact had been the one to spot and identify the objects as natural rather than artificial satellites. The same source denied the search had anything to do with [[flying saucers]].<ref>{{Citation | title = Earth 'Satellites' Spur Army Study | newspaper = New York Times | pages = 35 | year = 1954 | date = 1954-08-29 | url = http://www.roswellproof.com/Satellites_NYTIMES_1954.html}}</ref> However, both LaPaz and Tombaugh were to issue public denials that anything had been found. The October 1955 issue of [[Popular Mechanics]] magazine reported: :"Professor Tombaugh is closemouthed about his results. He won't say whether or not any small natural satellites have been discovered. He does say, however, that newspaper reports of 18 months ago announcing the discovery of natural satellites at 400 and 600 miles out are not correct. He adds that there is no connection between the search program and the reports of so-called flying saucers."<ref>{{Citation | last = Stimson, Jr. | first = Thomas E. | title = He Spies on Satellites | newspaper = Popular Mechanics | pages = 106 | year = 1955 | date = October 1955 | url = http://www.roswellproof.com/Satellites_PopMech_Oct55.html}}</ref> At a meteor conference in Los Angeles in 1957, Tombaugh reiterated that his four year search for "natural satellites" had been unsuccessful.<ref>{{Citation | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | pages = | year = 1957 | date = 1957-09-04 | url = }}</ref> In 1959, Tombaugh was to issue a final report stating that nothing had been found in his search. == In popular culture == In [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s 1958 [[science fiction]] novel, ''[[Have Space Suit—Will Travel]]'', there is a moon base called ''Tombaugh Station''. And, "Professor Tombaugh (the one the station was named for) was working on a giant electronic telescope to photograph" Pluto. [[Wilson Tucker]] published the 1960 novel ''To the Tombaugh Station'' (Ace Double). The [[2006 in music|2006]] album ''[[The Avalanche]]'' by [[Sufjan Stevens]] includes a song titled "For Clyde Tombaugh". In the [[Star Trek Universe]] there is a Federation starship USS ''Tombaugh'', named after the astronomer. It was mentioned in the ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' episode [[Infinite Regress|"Infinite Regress"]]. In the computer game ''[[Descent: FreeSpace &mdash; The Great War]]'', there is a Terran station in the Ribos system named after Tombaugh which is obliterated by the Shivan destroyer, ''Lucifer''. In [[Stephen Baxter]]'s 1995 short story "Gossamer," there is a Tombaugh Plateau on Pluto. ==References== <references/> ==Further reading== * Falk, Dan, "More than a one-hit wonder", ''Astronomy'', Feb. 2006, 40-45. * ''Clyde Tombaugh: Discoverer of Planet Pluto'', David H. Levy, Sky Publishing Corporation, March 2006 ==External links== * [http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~pbrosche/persons/pers_t.html Many biographical articles on Clyde Tombaugh] * [http://www.ufo.se/ufofiles/issue_4/astro_uk.html Quote from Tombaugh on UFOs] * [http://www.roswellproof.com/ramey_and_ufos.html UFO activities of Tombaugh] * [http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/articles/pdf/13.4_swords.pdf Academic paper on Tombaugh's UFO activities and near-earth satellite search] * [http://www.project1947.com/gfb/twinklereport.htm Final report of Project Twinkle] <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> {{Persondata |NAME= Tombaugh, Clyde |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION= American Astronomer |DATE OF BIRTH= [[February 4]], [[1906]] |PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Streator, Illinois|Streator]], [[LaSalle County, Illinois]] |DATE OF DEATH= [[January 17]], [[1997]] |PLACE OF DEATH= [[Las Cruces, New Mexico]] }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Tombaugh, Clyde}} [[Category:1906 births]] [[Category:1997 deaths]] [[Category:People from LaSalle County, Illinois]] [[Category:People from Pawnee County, Kansas]] [[Category:University of Kansas alumni]] [[Category:Northern Arizona University alumni]] [[Category:People from Flagstaff, Arizona]] [[Category:New Mexico State University faculty]] [[Category:People from Las Cruces, New Mexico]] [[Category:American astronomers]] [[Category:Asteroid discoverers]] [[Category:Space burials]] [[Category:Planetary scientists]] [[Category:Pluto]] [[Category:American Unitarian Universalists]] [[ca:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[cs:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[da:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[de:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[es:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[eo:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[eu:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[fr:Clyde William Tombaugh]] [[ko:클라이드 톰보]] [[io:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[id:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[it:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[lb:Clyde William Tombaugh]] [[nl:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[ja:クライド・トンボー]] [[no:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[nn:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[pl:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[pt:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[ru:Томбо, Клайд Уильям]] [[sk:Clyde William Tombaugh]] [[sl:Clyde William Tombaugh]] [[fi:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[sv:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[th:ไคลด์ ทอมบอ]] [[tr:Clyde Tombaugh]] [[zh:克莱德·汤博]]