My parents in front of the historical 13 inch Astrograph (a type of telescope employed exclusively to take pictures) used to discover Pluto in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh.
This was at Lowell Observatory, Mars Hill Campus, in Flagstaff, AZ, which was named as one of “The World’s Most Important Places” by Time Magazine in 2011 (pp 112). It was established in 1894. It was also here at Lowell Observatory that the rings around Uranus was discovered in 1977.
I purchased a discounted membership which entitles us for ‘free’ entry for the year; the membership also grants us free general admission to other science centers around the USA that participate in the Association of Science and Technology Centers Passport Program, ASTC. Killing two birds with one stone 🙂
It was an unforgettable amazing experience to see first hand the important astronomical instrument that was the reason we had a planet named after the god of the underworld in our Astronomy class in school growing up. In August 24, 2006 though, Pluto was voted out as a full-pledged planet and demoted to a ‘dwarf planet’ status (not a planet) by International Astronomical Union (IAU).
Where Pluto was discovered.
Lowell Observatory, AZ.
In one of “The World’s Most Important Places”.
16 Comments
Wonderful to experience history!
Indeed it was a wonderful opportunity.
Such an informative post. Thank you. My parents were born in Flagstaff and I have been there many times and didn’t know that it was close to such an important place. Science seems to have taken a back seat now days compared to the past so it is very important to point things like this out.
Thank you. I couldn’t agree with you more; the science, technology and ingenuity of the past is just amazing.
Very cool. I still feel rather sad that Pluto was demoted from planet status, though.
Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2017/01/church-of-primacy-of-peter.html, and have a wonderful year in 2017
Thank you..
Me too :-|..
Wow….a great and an insightful post…xx, Neha
http://www.theinstylejournal.com/
Thank you 🙂
What a great piece of history!
It is, I think it is priceless..
I’m sure that was interesting. That membership is cool. Enjoy it. 🙂
Isn’t it sad that Pluto was taken off the list.
Thanks, yes it is.. Can save some on admission fees 🙂
What an experience and your parents look like they enjoyed it very much!
Thanks Tanya. Yes they did! 🙂
What a cool place to visit!
Thanks for taking part in the Travel Tuesday meme. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!! 🙂