Print Size: 24" x 30" (Frame: 24" x 30")
The so-called Pluto Dome in Flagstaff, Arizona is one of several buildings at the Lowell Observatory, among the oldest observatories in the United States. It was established in 1894 by the amateur astronomer Percival Lowell who popularized the belief that Mars was home to an intelligent, technologically advanced civilization. Over the years Lowell Observatory has been responsible for major galactic discoveries, notably the discovery of Pluto. Although Lowell himself did not live long enough to confirm the suspected existence of a ninth planet, 26-year-old Clyde Tombaugh made the discovery in 1930, using Lowell’s research and the 13-inch telescope donated by Lowell’s brother. To house the new telescope a 34-foot-high building was constructed in 1928-29 by Stanley Sykes (a British bicycle designer turned Observatory handyman) and Edward C. Mills (a Canadian cabinet maker). The utilitarian structure follows no architectural style but is a clever homemade solution to very particular needs. The telescope is installed on the second floor of a stone-faced concrete base and protected by an unusual “inverted bucket” type dome made from $100 of local plywood and covered in galvanized iron. A Rube-Goldberg-like series of railings, pulleys and ropes operate the flap-thingies that open and close the observation slot. The charming makeshift structure, so at odds with its interplanetary use, is characteristic of the early observatory where Mrs. Lowell's frying pan remains the lens cap of the first guide telescope installed.
