By AL MITTERLING

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Al Mitterling, Warsaw, is a long time astronomer from the area.)

Today July 14 at 7:49 a.m., marked a great day in space exploration with the arrival of the New Horizons Probe to Pluto. It has been 85 years since Clyde Tombaugh made the discovery of this object that was designated as the ninth planet. Pluto has only orbited the sun one-third of the way since that time of discovery.

On July 22 to 24, the 1982 Astronomical League Convention was held in Peoria, Ill. I attended conventions to learn more about the hobby and to rub elbows with some of the famous astronomers during those times. Clyde was the keynote speaker of that convention. Friday night was a planned observing night. This took place at the Jubilee Observatory that houses a 24-inch reflector. On the grounds was a small building that was lighted for night time adaptation (dim red lights). It is in this building that I would spend roughly one-half hour with Clyde Tombaugh.

I first went in the building to grab a cup of coffee and noticed there were no other astronomers. I sat at a picnic style table in order to drink my beverage. A few minutes later, Clyde walked in and sat across the table from me. I greeted him and introduced myself. I can’t remember all the details of the conversation but I do remember some of it. At that time I had been observing Pluto myself. No easy task in a small telescope that I had but it was just large enough. I mentioned to Clyde that I had used the publication “Tonights Asteroids” which had Pluto finder charts in them.

Clyde took a keen interest in my efforts because it was not common at that time for amateurs to view Pluto as it was a dim object. I told him that I had to use my inverted eyesight in order to see the planet. I had to find the star fields and look for the planet’s location based on that date.  Looking just a little off to one side lets you see fainter objects, a trick that astronomers use to make observations. Also follow up observations to make sure your seeing Pluto, you go out several nights to verify.

I told Clyde that I had made a visit to Lowell Observatory (where Pluto was discovered) and had looked at the Pluto plates that he had took. At that time Charon had just been discovered  roughly four years back. I mentioned to him that on some of the plates were a bulge on the side of the planet and I had wondered if that might have not been Pluto’s Moon on those plates.

He smiled nicely and said that Charon had not been in a favorable position to have been discovered due to the plane that Pluto was in during that time. It wasn’t until 1978 some 48 years later that the U.S Navel Observatory was able to pick up on the largest of Pluto’s Moons. He suggested that the bulge was more than likely some glare from the scope or a defect in the plates. I was finishing up on my cup of coffee and Clyde was ready to go mingle some more out in the dark so we bid each other good night and left the small building.

The next day at the convention I purchased his book “Out of the Darkness: the Planet Pluto” in which he signed his name in the book for me, and an officer stamped the ALCON 1982 Logo in my copy of his book. I don’t know if he recognized me in the the light and with all the other attendees but I enjoyed our last brief moment and the memory of the night before where we talked in depth.

Later on he address the attendees of his discovery Pluto and gave great details. He was an interesting speaker and added humor about how he could only go out on dates during the full moon because his work required him to be there searching for planet X during the moonless nights. He joked the ladies were a little suspicious of his motives of only going out on moon lit nights. Later after his keynote speech, the members of the convention all stood up and serenaded Clyde, singing “here’s to the men of astronomy.” He was strongly applauded and was obviously touched.