The ashes will fly near Pluto’s discoverer of the planet – Gazeta Wyborcza

 

         
 
     

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
   
 
 
 
 

On board the New Horizons spacecraft, which on July 14 will fly near Pluto are the ashes of Clyde Tombaugh American astronomer, who discovered the planet 85 years ago. NASA agency would thus symbolically honor of the astronomer and his discovery.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                          
 

                 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Tombaughu widow and his two children offered ounce of his ashes, which were placed in an aluminum capsule bearing an appropriate inscription on board the probe.

The probe New Horizons will fly on July 14 at a distance of 12.550 km from the surface of Pluto, until recently considered the ninth and most distant planet from the Sun, the solar system.

Pluto but lost that status in 2006. When it turned out that there is only one of several most massive objects belonging to the so-called. The Kuiper Belt is located on the edge of the solar system and composed of rock and ice asteroids. Since then, Pluto is considered a dwarf planet.

The spacecraft, which first will examine closer celestial body, there is also an American postage stamp with a denomination of 29 cents in 1991. With the image of the planets and the words “Pluto has not yet examined” and two 25- cents coins – one from Florida, where the probe was launched 19 January 2006. and the second from the state of Maryland, where they live, its designers and where there is a mission command center.

The probe also carries two US flags and two CDs, on which there are pictures of a team of scientists who designed and supervise the mission and the names of 434,738 people at the right time came forward and registered online.

Clyde Tombaugh (1906-1997) is best known for his discovery in 1930. Pluto, but he also discovered many asteroids and Kuiper Belt said. He also led the study of unidentified flying objects (UFOs).

astronomer daughter Annette Tombaugh-Sitze, and her younger brother Alden (both in their seventies) going to be on Tuesday, July 14, during an historic flight, mission command center of the probe at Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland . Their mother and widow of astronomer died in 2012. At the age of 99 years.

“I think my dad would be very worried New Horizons mission. Besides, who would not be? When I looked at Pluto through the telescope was just a bright point” – said Annette.

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