Lowell Observatory

A private observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1894 by Percival Lowell (1855-1916), who was particularly interested in the possibility of intelligent life on Mars. Among notable discoveries made at the Lowell Observatory was that of the planet Pluto by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. A small staff of astronomers undertakes research in planetary science and other aspects of astronomy. There are five telescopes at the Flagstaff site: the original 60-centimetre (24-inch) refractor, the 60-centimetre Morgan reflector, a 53-centimetre (21-inch) reflector, a 45-centimetre (18-inch) astrograph, together with the 33-centimetre (13-inch) telescope used by Tombaugh to search for Pluto, restored and returned to its original dome in 1996. In addition, the observatory operates three other telescopes at Anderson Mesa, 24 kilometres (15 miles) south-east of Flagstaff, including the 1.8-metre (72-inch) Perkins Telescope of Ohio State and Ohio Wesleyan Universities.