Kids of all ages will enjoy exploring the Lowell campus to find answers to Pluto-themed questions.
View the Sun through a specially equipped solar telescope. If the day is cloudy and we can’t offer solar viewing, you can attend an indoor program highlighting the features of the Sun, including ‘live’ images.
Clyde Tombaugh used a device known as a Zeiss Blink Comparator to discover Pluto. For the past five years this has been on display at the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. It was recently returned to Lowell and is now back on display in our Rotunda Museum. Dignitaries will be on hand as we rededicate this important piece of astronomical history.
See the apartment and office of Clyde Tombaugh. Visit the fully restored 13-inch astrograph that Tombaugh used to discover Pluto in 1930. See the site of the telescope where observatory staff unknowingly captured images of Pluto 15 years before Tombaugh’s discovery. Finish the tour at the famed Zeiss Blink Comparator.
For our Spanish-speaking guests. See the apartment and office of Clyde Tombaugh. Visit the fully restored 13-inch astrograph that Tombaugh used to discover Pluto in 1930. See the site of the telescope where observatory staff unknowingly captured images of Pluto 15 years before Tombaugh’s discovery. See the famed Zeiss Blink Comparator.
See the historic 24-inch Alvan Clark & Sons refracting telescope, built in 1896. This was used by Percival Lowell to study Mars, by V.M. Slipher in 1912-1914 to find the first evidence that our universe is expanding, by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 to verify Pluto’s characteristics, and by cartographers in the 1960s to map the Moon in support of the Apollo program.
The entire family will enjoy this show as observatory educators use liquid nitrogen, dry ice, and a variety of household materials to demonstrate the frigid conditions of Pluto and the outer solar system
See the apartment and office of Clyde Tombaugh. Visit the fully restored 13-inch astrograph that Tombaugh used to discover Pluto in 1930. See the site of the telescope where observatory staff unknowingly captured images of Pluto 15 years before Tombaugh’s discovery. Finish the tour at the famed Zeiss Blink Comparator.
Take a look inside the Putnam Collection Center, which features the Millionaire calculating machine used by Percival Lowell’s “computers’ in determining the location of Lowell’s “Planet X”. Also see Lowell’s 1911 Stevens-Duryea automobile and other historic items from the observatory’s collections.
View the Sun through a specially equipped solar telescope. If the day is cloudy and we can’t offer solar viewing, you can attend an indoor program highlighting the features of the Sun, including ‘live’ images.
See the historic 24-inch Alvan Clark & Sons refracting telescope, built in 1896. This was used by Percival Lowell to study Mars, by V.M. Slipher in 1912-1914 to find the first evidence that our universe is expanding, by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 to verify Pluto’s characteristics, and by cartographers in the 1960s to map the Moon in support of the Apollo program.
The entire family will enjoy this show as observatory educators use liquid nitrogen, dry ice, and a variety of household materials to demonstrate the frigid conditions of Pluto and the outer solar system
See the apartment and office of Clyde Tombaugh. Visit the fully restored 13-inch astrograph that Tombaugh used to discover Pluto in 1930. See the site of the telescope where observatory staff unknowingly captured images of Pluto 15 years before Tombaugh’s discovery. Finish the tour at the famed Zeiss Blink Comparator.
For our Spanish-speaking guests. See the apartment and office of Clyde Tombaugh. Visit the fully restored 13-inch astrograph that Tombaugh used to discover Pluto in 1930. See the site of the telescope where observatory staff unknowingly captured images of Pluto 15 years before Tombaugh’s discovery. See the famed Zeiss Blink Comparator.
Take a look inside the Putnam Collection Center, which features the Millionaire calculating machine used by Percival Lowell’s “computers’ in determining the location of Lowell’s “Planet X”. Also see Lowell’s 1911 Stevens-Duryea automobile and other historic items from the observatory’s collections.
View the Sun through a specially equipped solar telescope. If the day is cloudy and we can’t offer solar viewing, you can attend an indoor program highlighting the features of the Sun, including ‘live’ images.
Peruse Pluto-themed artwork from the International Association of Astronomy Artists while you become one of the first to experience Mother Road Brewery’s Pluto Porter.
New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern, Clyde Tombaugh’s son Alden, and Charon discoverer Jim Christy headline a star-studded evening presentation,
Stop by Karma Sushi Restaurant for a limited-time-only Pluto Roll. Clyde Tombaugh ate at the Black Cat Cafe on February 18, 1930– the day he discovered Pluto. Karma Sushi now operates out of the building once occupied by the Black Cat and are paying homage to this legacy with the Pluto Roll.
This tour features a rare visit to the plate vault and one of the Pluto discovery plate (the other is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.) Also see the apartment and office of Clyde Tombaugh. Visit the fully restored 13-inch astrograph that Tombaugh used to discover Pluto in 1930. See the site of the telescope where observatory staff unknowingly captured images of Pluto 15 years before Tombaugh’s discovery. Finish the tour at the famed Zeiss Blink Comparator.
Clyde Tombaugh used a device known as a Zeiss Blink Comparator to discover Pluto. For the past five years this has been on display at the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. It was recently returned to Lowell and is now back on display in our Rotunda Museum. Dignitaries will be on hand as we rededicate this important piece of astronomical history.
1:00 – Depart Lowell Observatory
1:15 – Northern Arizona University: Astrophysical Materials Lab, Mars Lab and PEAXS (Processes, Environments, and Astrochemistry on Extraterrestrial Surfaces) Lab
2:15 – Leave for U.S. Naval Observatory
2:30 – U.S. Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station
3:30 – Leave for Lowell Observatory
3:45 – Arrival at Lowell Observatory
*Requires VIP ticket.
Peruse Pluto-themed artwork from the International Association of Astronomy Artists while you become one of the first to experience Mother Road Brewery’s Pluto Porter.
New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern, Clyde Tombaugh’s son Alden, and Charon discoverer Jim Christy headline a star-studded evening presentation,
Stop by Karma Sushi Restaurant for a limited-time-only Pluto Roll. Clyde Tombaugh ate at the Black Cat Cafe on February 18, 1930– the day he discovered Pluto. Karma Sushi now operates out of the building once occupied by the Black Cat and are paying homage to this legacy with the Pluto Roll.
In conjunction with the Flagstaff Film Festival and Downtown Business Alliance, this program celebrates Clyde Tombaugh’s Day of Discovery of Pluto, on February 18, 1930.
6pm | Doors open
7 – 9pm | Pluto Discovery Day programming
- Lowell Observatory Historian Kevin Schindler will retrace Tombaugh’s Day of Discovery, from his startling detection of Pluto at Lowell Observatory to several spots in downtown Flagstaff and ending at the Orpheum Theater, where he watched the 1929 film, The Virginian.
- Lowell Observatory Planetary Scientist Will Grundy and Northern Arizona University Professor Steve Tegler will discuss Pluto research currently going on in Flagstaff.
- City of Flagstaff officials will talk about what Pluto means to our community, “The Home of Pluto”
- The beer makers at Mother Road Brewing will introduce their limited-edition Pluto Porter. Guests will have the opportunity to purchase this and other drinks throughout the evening.
- Culinary experts from Karma Sushi Bar Grill will share the story behind their Pluto Roll.
- The Flagstaff Film Festival will show several movie shorts highlighting the spirit of adventure and discovery. Stay tuned for a list of the shorts.
See read more link for tickets
Stop by Karma Sushi Restaurant for a limited-time-only Pluto Roll. Clyde Tombaugh ate at the Black Cat Cafe on February 18, 1930 — the day he discovered Pluto. Karma Sushi now operates out of the building once occupied by the Black Cat and are paying homage to this legacy with the Pluto Roll.
Denotes VIP ticketed event