Around this time it was also found that the Sun’s gravitational pull could allow a planet to orbit four times as far away as Neptune (“World of Scientific”). These findings proved there was a chance of a ninth planet beyond Neptune, which spurred research and theories to crop up left and right. Percival Lowell, founder of the Lowell Observatory, started an expensive project to find this planet, which he dubbed Planet X. His search began in 1894 when he compared photographs of the night sky but his endeavors were fruitless (Llewellyn, Wong, Ortega). Others took up the search after his death using a new device called a blink comparator, which would hold both photos and flash a light beneath them while the operator looked through an eyepiece to spot differences (“World of Scientific”). This slightly more advanced method allowed astronomers to detect Planet X’s presence, and soon news of Pluto was spreading around the
Around this time it was also found that the Sun’s gravitational pull could allow a planet to orbit four times as far away as Neptune (“World of Scientific”). These findings proved there was a chance of a ninth planet beyond Neptune, which spurred research and theories to crop up left and right. Percival Lowell, founder of the Lowell Observatory, started an expensive project to find this planet, which he dubbed Planet X. His search began in 1894 when he compared photographs of the night sky but his endeavors were fruitless (Llewellyn, Wong, Ortega). Others took up the search after his death using a new device called a blink comparator, which would hold both photos and flash a light beneath them while the operator looked through an eyepiece to spot differences (“World of Scientific”). This slightly more advanced method allowed astronomers to detect Planet X’s presence, and soon news of Pluto was spreading around the