How an 11-year-old girl came up with a name for the planet Pluto (3 photos)

The planet Pluto, in a sense, has three whole birthdays. It is often written that it got its name exactly on March 24, 1930. year, although there is another date - May 1 of the same year. And there are 18 more February 1930. And what do these dates mean?





Pluto

After the discovery of the future Pluto, a competition was announced for the name of the new planet - and it so happened that the option won, suggested by an 11-year-old girl named Venice Burney.

She suggested naming the planet after the god of the underworld kingdoms, since the edge of the solar system is just as inaccessible to of a person, and in general - it is also dark and cold there (although in fact actually this is not the case).

The idea reached a conditional finale and won, which was announced on May 1, 1930.

And March 24th is the day when a certain grandfather read for breakfast aloud to the newspaper with the announcement of the competition, and Venice, his granddaughter, accordingly, she voiced her own version, which adults were able to convey to the competition jury.



Venice Burney and Clyde Tombaugh at the time of Pluto's discovery

Well, what does it mean - were able to convey? Taking into account the fact that an erudite girl who loves ancient myths and astronomy, was in Oxford, that is, in England, and the future Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in the so-called Lowell Observatory, which is actually one of the the oldest US observatories, the task does not seem primitive.

However, the scientific world is small. The same grandfather once worked librarian at the local university. He conveyed the idea of his granddaughter directly professor of astronomy Herbert Turner, with whom he was friends. Same - either out of friendly feelings, or the idea really seemed to him good - I told my colleagues about it.

Well, that is, as colleagues - I telegraphed to the USA, right to that same Lowell Observatory.

And there, a kind of short list of three options was formed very quickly.



Newspaper clippings announcing the discovery of a new planet

The list of applicants included Minerva, an ancient Roman goddess of wisdom and war, and Kronos, one of the six titan brothers from ancient Greek mythology.

The first option did not go in, among other things, because in honor of Minerva has already been named an asteroid, and the second option, they say, shallows, because it was the suggestion of a certain astronomer "with a bad reputation" (We will not, understand what was wrong there).

In general, the creativity from the 11-year-old English girl was adopted unanimously, and for a cool creative she was also given 5 pounds sterling.

By the way, there is one more date - May 25, 1930 was made an official announcement to the media. Then the whole story became famous.