Pluto and the icy worlds of the Kuiper Belt

artiteacher How an eleven-year-old named a planet

artiteacher The search for Planet X

Are we finding Planet X? (Not yet, no!) / But we found Pluto! (Watch it blink and glow!)

artiteacher How a teenager made space history

artiteacher An English schoolgirl suggested the name Pluto over breakfast.

artiteacher A self-taught farm boy discovered Pluto using a blinking star comparator.

BETA

artiteacher Pluto's Hide and Seek

Jul 7

Fun Fact

Pluto's cash prize: The 11-year-old girl who named Pluto received five British pounds as a reward, worth about 300 dollars today.

Glossary

blink comparator (noun)
An astronomical instrument used to detect motion by rapidly alternating between two photographs of the same star field. Clyde Tombaugh used this device at Lowell Observatory to discover Pluto in February 1930.

Gossip

Should we name new planets after gods or real people?

Quiz

How far does the main ring of the Kuiper Belt extend from the Sun?

artiteacher The hunt for a missing outer world

Quiz

Which observatory was founded in Arizona to search for 'Planet X'?

artiteacher Mapping the cold outer ring of space

Quiz

What device did Clyde Tombaugh use to spot Pluto's movement across star photos?

Quiz

Who discovered the dwarf planet Pluto in February 1930?

Quiz

Which astronomer proposed the existence of the icy Kuiper Belt in 1951?

Quiz

Why was Pluto named after the Roman god of the underworld?

Quiz

How old was Venetia Burney when she suggested naming the new planet Pluto?

Quiz

What prize did Venetia Burney receive for successfully naming Pluto?