Flagstaff in Coconino County, Arizona — The American Mountains (Southwest)
The Lawrence Lowell Telescope
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2015
1. The Lawrence Lowell Telescope Marker
President A. Lawrence Lowell
through this instrument the ninth
planet Pluto was first found in 1930
”It means a planet out there as yet unseen by Man, but certain sometime to be detected and added to the others.”
The Solar System
published 1902
Percival Lowell
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Education • Exploration • Science & Medicine. A significant historical date for this entry is February 18, 1930.
Location. 35° 12.237′ N, 111° 39.942′ W. Marker is in Flagstaff, Arizona, in Coconino County. It can be reached from West Mars Hill Road 0.6 miles west of West Santa Fe Avenue. Marker is located on the Lowell Observatory campus. It is mounted at eye-level, directly on the Lowell Observatory building, just to the right of the entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1400 West Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff AZ 86001, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Flagstaff & High Country and in Hopi. It is also in the American Southwest, in the Mountain West, in Colorado Plateau, and at the Four Corners. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexicos Alta California.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Henry Lee Giclas (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); U. S. Astronomer Percival Lowell, Specialist Of Mars, And Anamizu (about 600 feet away); 42-Inch Reflecting Telescope (about 700 feet away); The Sundial (about 700 feet
this page online
Regarding The Lawrence Lowell Telescope. National Register of Historic Places #66000172.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Lowell Observatory
Also see . . .
1. The Discovery of Pluto. Percival Lowell postulated the existence of a planet beyond Neptune and began in earnest in 1905 to search for it. He spent his remaining 11 years in a lengthy mathematical and observational search for the elusive “trans-Neptunian” planet. Upon Lowells death in 1916, the search was suspended while the Observatory went through protracted legal wrangling about Lowells estate. In 1927, once the estate was finally settled, Percivals brother — Harvard University President A. Lawrence Lowell — provided the funds needed to construct the telescope and dome. (Submitted on May 7, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2015
2. The Lawrence Lowell Telescope Dome
2. Lowell Observatory: Where Pluto Was Discovered. Using photographs taken with a 13-inch telescope (now called the Pluto Discovery Telescope), which was funded by Percival's brother, Abbott Lawrence Lowell, Clyde Tombaugh saw movement between different frames on Feb. 18, 1930. It was a tiny world called Pluto. Once considered a planet, Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet status in 2006 after icy worlds of a similar size were found in the outer solar system. (Submitted on May 7, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. Clyde Tombaugh: Astronomer Who Discovered Pluto. Clyde William Tombaugh was born near Streator, Ill., on Feb. 4, 1906. His family purchased a farm near Burdett, Kan., while he was still young, where a hailstorm ruined his family's crops and put an end to his hopes to attend college at the time. In 1928, the amateur astronomer was offered a job at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, where he discovered Pluto. (Submitted on May 7, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
4. The Pluto Telescope. Built in 1928-1929 expressly for the purpose of completing the search for “Planet X” – the name for the hypothetical ninth planet in the solar system that Percival Lowell thought must exist – the Pluto Discovery Telescope, like the Clark, is
Photographed by Adam Margolis, May 25, 2024
3. The Lawrence Lowell Telescope
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2015
4. Lowell Pluto Discovery Telescope
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2015
5. Lowell Pluto Discovery Telescope
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2015
6. Lowell Pluto Discovery Telescope
Photographed by Adam Margolis, May 25, 2024
7. The Lawrence Lowell Telescope Interior
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2015
8. Pluto Discovery Medal
This medal was awarded to Lowell Observatory in 1930 by the Astronomical Society of France, in honor of the discovery of Pluto.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 6, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 623 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 7, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 3. submitted on December 18, 2024, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. 4, 5, 6. submitted on May 7, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 7. submitted on December 18, 2024, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. 8. submitted on May 7, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
