The Instrument that Discovered a Planet

Filed under pretty pictures, history, trans-neptunian objects, Pluto, dwarf planets beyond Neptune

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The blink comparator used by Clyde Tombaugh in the discovery of Pluto. Tombaugh went on to scan millions of stars with this comparator during the 1930s.

Pretzelpaws via Wikimedia Commons

Original image.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Contact us to request publication permission from the copyright holder. Original image data dated on or about August 10, 2005