Following his discovery of Pluto, Tombaugh earned bachelor's and master's degrees in astronomy from the University of Kansas in 1936 and 1938. Kevin Schindler is the historian at Lowell Observatory. Tombaugh worked there from 1929 to 1945. The I Heart Pluto Festival 2021 is a free event running from February 13 – 18 hosted by Lowell Observatory. Percival Lowell began searching for his theoretical "Planet X" in 1905, and Tombaugh's "eureka!" Lowell Observatory is pleased to present a celebration 91 years in the making: the 2nd Annual I Heart Pluto Festival. Retired NASA astronauts Nicole Stott and Ron Garan and New Horizons scientists Dr. Alan Stern and Dr. Will Grundy headline the event. He sent drawings of Jupiter and Mars to the Lowell Observatory, at Flagstaff, Arizona, which offered him a job. We pride ourselves on being the home of Pluto and the Expanding Universe. This free, all-virtual celebration runs from February 13-18 and features a variety of […] When not digging through Lowell’s archives, he writes articles for a variety of publications and contribute a bi-weekly astronomy column, “View from Mars Hill”, for the Arizona Daily Sun newspaper. Clyde Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto, peers into an instrument. The Pluto Telescope; The Rotunda Museum; Putnam Collection Center; The Story of Pluto. To the observatory's disappointment and surprise, Pluto showed no visible disc; it appeared as a point, no different from a star, and, at only 15th magnitude, was six times dimmer than Lowell had predicted, which meant it was either very small, or very dark. The Pluto Telescope; The Rotunda Museum; Putnam Collection Center; The Story of Pluto. experience brought worldwide attention to the city and observatory. The Pluto Telescope and its dome date back to the late 1920s, when Lowell Observatory recommenced the search for founder Percival Lowell’s theoretical “Planet X”. Lowell Observatory is a modern research establishment as well as a historical museum. Join in with nightly virtual events! I Heart Pluto Festival 2021 Virtually celebrating the 91st anniversary of Pluto's discovery (Feb 18, 1930) February 13 - 18, 2021 In the nine decades since, some areas of the dome have rotted, a few of the telescope parts have worn out, and the others need to be cleaned or stripped and repainted. Lowell Observatory, founded in 1894, is perhaps best known for the discovery of Pluto, but that is not the facility's only contribution to astronomy. (Image credit: Lowell Observatory) Early life and family. Clyde William Tombaugh was born on near Streator, Ill., on Feb. 4, 1906.