Difference between revisions of "Clyde W. Tombaugh"
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But NASA, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and the Southwest Research Institute did, finally, oblige Tombaugh, though posthumously. They collected one U.S. Customary [[ounce]] of his ashes, sealed them in a canister, and installed this on the upper deck of the New Horizons probe. Alan Stern, the lead investigator, inscribed it thus:{{cquote|Interned herein are remains of American Clyde W. Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto and the solar system's "third zone." Adelle and Muron's boy, Patricia's husband, Annette and Alden's father, astronomer, teacher, punster, and friend: Clyde W. Tombaugh (1906-1997).<ref name=CNN>Mullen J, "[http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/13/us/nasa-pluto-new-horizons-clyde-tombaugh-ashes/ Pluto discoverer's ashes are aboard New Horizons probe]," [[Cable News Network]]. Published 14 July 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.</ref>}} | But NASA, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and the Southwest Research Institute did, finally, oblige Tombaugh, though posthumously. They collected one U.S. Customary [[ounce]] of his ashes, sealed them in a canister, and installed this on the upper deck of the New Horizons probe. Alan Stern, the lead investigator, inscribed it thus:{{cquote|Interned herein are remains of American Clyde W. Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto and the solar system's "third zone." Adelle and Muron's boy, Patricia's husband, Annette and Alden's father, astronomer, teacher, punster, and friend: Clyde W. Tombaugh (1906-1997).<ref name=CNN>Mullen J, "[http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/13/us/nasa-pluto-new-horizons-clyde-tombaugh-ashes/ Pluto discoverer's ashes are aboard New Horizons probe]," [[Cable News Network]]. Published 14 July 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.</ref>}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Enduring legacy == | ||
| + | The best legacy Tombaugh has left is, of course, his discovery of Pluto. In addition, the Western Amateur Astronomers Society established the Clyde Tombaugh Award for "Creative Innovation in Telescope Design." In 1992 the Riverside ([[California]]) Telescope Makers' Conference took over responsibility for the award. In 2007 they changed the criterion for the award to "Creative Innovation in Astronomy." | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | == External link == | ||
| + | [http://www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org/archives/Tombaugh.htm Clyde Tombaugh Award winners] | ||
[[Category:Biography]] | [[Category:Biography]] | ||
[[Category:Astronomers]] | [[Category:Astronomers]] | ||
Revision as of 14:03, August 5, 2015
| Clyde William Tombaugh | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Date & Place of Birth | February 4, 1906 at Streator, Illinois, USA |
| Parents | Muron and Adelle Tombaugh |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Spouse | Patricia (1912-1997) |
| Children | Annette and Aiden |
| Date & Place of Death | January 17, 1997 at Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA |
| Place of Burial | Las Cruces; 1 oz. ashes placed aboard New Horizons deep-space rocket probe |
| Education | University of Kansas: Bachelor of Science (1936), Master of Science (1938) |
| Occupation | Astronomy |
| Writings | {{{writings}}} |
Clyde William Tombaugh (1906-fl. 1930-1997) is the astronomer and discoverer of the dwarf planet Pluto.[1]
Contents
Early life and self-education
Clyde Tombaugh was born 4 February 1906 in Streator, Illinois. His family moved to Burdett, Kansas in 1922. There a hailstorm destroyed his family's farm crops, so that the family could not afford to send him to college.
Undaunted, he built his own telescope in 1926. The results did not satisfy him. So he self-educated in the science of optics, and built two more telescopes. He ground his own lenses and mirrors to build these. He drew the solar system (as it was then known) from his observations, and sent his drawings to the Lowell Observatory in Arizona on or about 1928. The drawings impressed the directors, who invited him to join its staff.
Principal discovery
Shortly after he moved to arizona, the now 24-year-old Tombaugh made the discovery for which the world will always remember him. He was searching for a "Planet X" beyond Neptune. Other astronomers had predicted "Planet X" from calculations based on an erroneous value for Neptune's mass and its orbital patterns. Tombaugh knew nothing of the error, but found an object anyway. His daughter Annette named the object Pluto.
Tombaugh knew even then that Pluto was not large enough to be the predicted Planet X. Eventually the Voyager 2 flyby returned data that allowed Jet Propulsion Laboratory mission controllers to determine that Neptune had more mass than astronomers had supposed. (Today the New Horizons flyby established the mass of Pluto, among other physical and orbital characteristics.)
Further education and military service
In 1932 Tombaugh had earned enough money to enroll at the University of Kansas. He kept working at Lowell during his summer vacations. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1936 and then returned to work at Lowell full-time. Still, in 1938 he earned his Master's degree, also from U. Kan.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Congress subsequently declared war on Japan. Two days later, the United States was fully involved in the Second World War. The United States Army called Tombaugh into its service. He lectured in navigation to United States Navy officers at Arizona State College from 1943-1945.
Further career
When the war ended, Lowell could not re-hire him. So he "re-upped" and joined the unit at the White Sands Missile Range at Las Cruces, New Mexico. There, among other achievements, he designed the IGOR (Intercept Ground Optical Recorder). This instrument (essentially a highly developed camera) remained in service at White Sands for 30 years before improvements became available.
Tombaugh left White Sands in 1955. He joined the faculty at New Mexico State College at Las Cruces. In 1973, at the age of 68, he retired. Professor Emeritus Tombaugh traveled the country to raise money for the institution he had served the longest of all his employers.
He died at home in 1997, two and one-half weeks shy of his ninety-first birthday. Per his wishes, his survivors cremated him.
An immodest proposal?
Walter T. Brown, of the Center for Scientific Creation (Phoenix, Arizona), remembers Tombaugh as a neighbor. From Brown comes this apocryphon: toward the end of his life, Clyde Tombaugh proposed to NASA that they send him on a one-way mission to Mars. He did not propose to soft-land. He was prepared to crash-land, though it meant certain death, and report his impressions as he descended. Aghast NASA officials refused his proposal. Brown guesses that NASA would never have wanted the bad publicity from sending a living human astronaut on a suicide mission.[2]
But NASA, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and the Southwest Research Institute did, finally, oblige Tombaugh, though posthumously. They collected one U.S. Customary ounce of his ashes, sealed them in a canister, and installed this on the upper deck of the New Horizons probe. Alan Stern, the lead investigator, inscribed it thus:
| “ | Interned herein are remains of American Clyde W. Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto and the solar system's "third zone." Adelle and Muron's boy, Patricia's husband, Annette and Alden's father, astronomer, teacher, punster, and friend: Clyde W. Tombaugh (1906-1997).[3] | ” |
Enduring legacy
The best legacy Tombaugh has left is, of course, his discovery of Pluto. In addition, the Western Amateur Astronomers Society established the Clyde Tombaugh Award for "Creative Innovation in Telescope Design." In 1992 the Riverside (California) Telescope Makers' Conference took over responsibility for the award. In 2007 they changed the criterion for the award to "Creative Innovation in Astronomy."
References
- ↑ Clyde Tombaugh Biography, Academy of Achievement]].Last modified 1 April 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
- ↑ Hurlbut TA, interview with Walter T. Brown, Jr., ca. 15 July 2015.
- ↑ Mullen J, "Pluto discoverer's ashes are aboard New Horizons probe," Cable News Network. Published 14 July 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
