HEROES OF SPACEC
LYDE TOM BAUGH
The scientist who discovered Pluto, once the ninth planet of the Solar System
© Getty Images
The existence of a planet beyond Neptune had been predicted by prominent American astrologer Percival Lowell in 1905, but it was never proven in his lifetime. He had aimed a 40-inch reflector at what he believed to be the right section of the sky, but he died in 1916 with his dream of discovering his so-called Planet X sadly unrealised. It was his biggest disappointment, yet it was the catalyst for a continued search. And for amateur astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, Lowell’s hunch would yield great results.