The Sky at Night · SEASON 24

The Man Who Discovered a Planet

Episode 3 · 1980-03-20

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Season 24Episode 3★ N/A/10
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Episode overview

Exactly 50 years ago, in 1930, the planet Pluto was discovered by a young research student named Clyde Tombaugh. Since that time Pluto has set puzzle after puzzle. It is smaller than expected; it has an unusual path: and it has a moon, Charon, which is one-third the size of itself. Today, at the age of 77, CLYDE TOMBAUGH is one of America's most respected astronomers. For this programme Patrick Moore flew to Arizona to meet Professor Tombaugh and to ask him what he now thought about the curious planet he discovered half a century ago.

Season 24 episodes

1. Mapping the Sky1980-01-10 2. Saturn: The Disappearing Rings1980-02-07 3. The Man Who Discovered a Planet1980-03-20 4. The Multiple Mirror Telescope1980-04-17 5. Journey to the Centre of the Galaxy1980-05-13 6. Kitt Peak Observatory: the Solar Telescope1980-06-10 7. Quasars1980-07-10 8. The Mapping of Venus1980-08-06 9. Meteor Crater1980-09-04 10. Autumn Equinox1980-10-01 11. The Scintars1980-10-28 12. Voyager I Reaches Saturn1980-11-20 13. The Quadrantids1980-12-07