Clyde Tombaugh 19061997

1
In 1930, American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh
discovered Pluto, after a laborious search of sky
photographs. He used a Blink Comparator to look
for slowly moving objects against a background of
fixed stars.
Clyde Tombaugh (1906-1997)
2
Telescopic pictures of the same part of the sky
are taken on successive nights (or longer
periods). The images are aligned as closely as
possible, and viewed repeatedly one after the
other (blinked).
Brashear Blink Comparator (ca. 1947)
The nearer object (planet, asteroid, or comet) is
seen to move against the fixed background of
stars. Tombaugh found Pluto in this manner. It
has been a preferred method for finding asteroids.
3
Astronomical imagery has become much more complex
and sophisticated. This image of the pelican
nebula, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope,
displays the actual colors enhanced to accentuate
them.
Pelican Nebula
4
This image is a screenshot from an award-winning
movie depicting a three dimensional flight
through the central region of the Orion Nebula.