Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The Sea Water Distilling Plant.
Sea Water Distilling Plant
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Parking Lot Shoeprints
Dewey Square Pylon & Bent 38
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Alresford Spy Toilet
This Public Bathroom in a Sleepy English Village Was an Epicenter for Cold War Espionage
2 days ago
Manhattan Well
The Manhattan Well: How Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton United to Solve a Murder Mystery
3 days ago
Beneath downtown Minneapolis, Schieks Cave has surprisingly warm groundwater, evidence of a subterranean heat island.
Schieks Cave Below Minneapolis Contains a Lake of Warm Sewage
4 days ago
Athenaeus described various kinds of Greek drinking vessels, like the deep, rounded skyphos and wide, flat kylix.
The Ancient Greek Guide to Succeeding at Dinner Parties
5 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Arizona Flagstaff Pluto Discovery Telescope
AO Edited

Pluto Discovery Telescope

A planet-hunting astrograph built in the 1920s to seek out the so-called "Planet X" beyond Uranus.

Flagstaff, Arizona

Added By
CoolCrab
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
Pluto Discovery Telescope in 2011   Scarlet Sappho / CC BY-SA 2.0
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
Clyde Tombaugh, the self-taught astronomer who discovered Pluto   brendonstinson / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The universe is vast and full of mysteries. Though we still have a long way to go, over time and with careful observation, many once-mysterious phenomena have been observed and understood. These days, many of those observations and discoveries are made possible by teams of scientists with access to large collections of instruments. But until not too long ago, a single person with a single telescope could discover a whole new planet... or a dwarf planet. 

The Pluto Discovery Telescope is an honorary member of an exclusive club of telescopes used to discover planets, since at that time Pluto was considered a planet. The other two members are the 40-foot telescope that William Herschel used for the first observation of Uranus in 1781, and the Fraunhofer Refractor that Johann Gottfried Galle used for the first observation of Neptune in 1846.

A number of astronomers theorized that another planet might exist beyond Uranus, but Percival Lowell was especially convinced. In 1894, he founded the Lowell Observatory, where he dedicated the final years of his life to the search for "Planet X." Unfortunately when he died in 1916, the hypothetical planet was still undiscovered.

More than a decade later, Percival's nephew Roger Lowell Putnam had taken over the observatory and Percival's hunt for Planet X. With $10,000 from Abbott Lawrence Lowell, Percival’s younger brother he built a new telescope. Built in 1928-1929, the Lawrence Lowell Telescope is a 13-inch photographic instrument known as an astrograph. It had an unusual design compared to other telescopes of that time, because it was built specifically as a planet hunter. It has three lenses, which could focus light from distant objects in space onto a glass photographic plate. The design had a large field of view that is more common for survey telescopes these days, but was a bit of an oddity a century ago.

Not long after the telescope was built, on February 18, 1930, observatory assistant Clyde Tombaugh first identified the object that would later be named Pluto. Though Percival Lowell was not alive to witness the result of his life's work, he was commemorated in the creation of the Pluto symbol: ♇. The symbol combines the first two letters of the (dwarf) planet's name, as well as Percival Lowell's initials.

Today, the telescope is no longer in active use, mainly because it relied on photographic plates to image the sky and does not have an actual eyepiece to allow anyone to look through it. This combined with its historical significance has made the staff at Lowell Observatory hesitant to modify it for current use, instead focusing on preservation.

Related Tags

Planets Observatories Instruments Of Science Telescopes Astronomy Space

Know Before You Go

The telescope can be visited daily during opening hours of the observatory. Check their website for times and ticket prices. 

Community Contributors

Added By

CoolCrab

Edited By

Dark Nebula Deluxe, Michelle Cassidy, brendonstinson

  • Dark Nebula Deluxe
  • Michelle Cassidy
  • brendonstinson

Published

July 12, 2022

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://lowell.edu/discover/telescopes-exhibits/pluto-discovery-telescope/
Pluto Discovery Telescope
1400 W Mars Hill Rd
Flagstaff, Arizona, 86001
United States
35.203913, -111.665752
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Lowell Observatory

Flagstaff, Arizona

miles away

Lowell Mausoleum

Flagstaff, Arizona

miles away

Monument to the Flagstaff Flag Staff

Flagstaff, Arizona

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Flagstaff

Flagstaff

Arizona

Places 22

Nearby Places

Lowell Observatory

Flagstaff, Arizona

miles away

Lowell Mausoleum

Flagstaff, Arizona

miles away

Monument to the Flagstaff Flag Staff

Flagstaff, Arizona

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Flagstaff

Flagstaff

Arizona

Places 22

Related Stories and Lists

11 Telescopes Exploring The Magic of Space

List

By Jonathan Carey

Related Places

  • Munich, Germany

    Fraunhofer Refractor at the Deutsches Museum

    The telescope that discovered Neptune.

  • Ghent, Belgium

    Volkssterrenwacht Armand Pien

    Learn about stars, weather patterns, or just enjoy the panoramic view of Ghent.

  • Ladd Observatory

    Providence, Rhode Island

    Ladd Observatory

    A 132-year-old telescope continues to keep watch over the night skies above Providence.

  • Great Refractor Potsdam

    Potsdam, Germany

    Großer Refraktor (Great Refractor)

    One of the largest refracting telescopes in the world, and the first built specifically for studying astrophysics.

  • Saltsjöbaden Observatory

    Stockholm, Sweden

    Saltsjöbaden Observatory

    Once the world's most modern observatory, this building is now a private school.

  • Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope

    Sunspot, New Mexico

    Sunspot Solar Observatory

    High in the Sacramento Mountains, a facility dedicated to studying the sun.

  • Bare Dark Sky Observatory

    Burnsville, North Carolina

    Bare Dark Sky Observatory

    A mountaintop space observatory that is certified dark.

  • Flagstaff, Arizona

    Lowell Mausoleum

    The final resting place of the businessman-turned-astronomer who helped discover Pluto stands near his observatory.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.