SEPTEMBER, 1930
PLUTO
Its Discovery, Its Preliminary Orbit and Its Approximate Positions
from 1910 to 1940
By LiEut.-Commander Walter M. Wynne, U. S. Navy
HE year 1930 is a
banner year in as-
tronomy because of
the comparatively
rare feat of adding
another major planet
to the eight that
have, up to now,
been all that science
allotted to Sol's family. Not since 1846,
when Neptune was discovered, has a like
feat been recorded; and not only that,
but the incident of this year, together
with the one of 1846 are the two out-
standing achievements of theoretical as-
tronomy whereby the mathematical cal-
culations of the astronomer were the
contributing factor in the later, optical,
discovery of a new planet.
On the night of January 21st, 1930,
Clyde W. Tombaugh, an assistant at
Lowell Observatory, saw what seemed to
be a planetary object on a photographic
plate he had just developt. He at once
took the plate to the director of the ob-
servatory, Dr. V. M. Slipher, who in-
stituted continuous nightly observations
Mercury uses some forms of spelling recommended by the Simplified Spelling Board
91
of the object until its identity and na-
ture were better known.
Moving bodies in or near our solar
system reveal themselves on a long-
exposed photograph of the night sky by
the streak of light that they trace, owing
to their motion—the fixt stars remaining
as mere points of light. In this manner
they may be pickt up, as Pluto has been,
but once such an object has been noted
the problem begins of identifying the
wanderer. Usually it happens that a
newly found wanderer within our solar
system turns out to be either a comet or
one of the minor planets. The latter
are some very small and tiny fragments,
supposedly, of a former planet, situated
between the planets Mars and Jupiter,
which was disrupted. The fragments of
this planet still continue to move in orbits
lying, with but very few exceptions, en-
tirely within the space between the orbits
of Mars and Jupiter. Lying, as they do,
somewhere this side of Jupiter their
daily motion, comparatively speaking, is
quite rapid and some notion of this may
be had after one or two nights' observa-
tions, following which the body is def-
92 MERCURY
PLUTO
The trans-Neptunian planet, photographed
thru a •24-inch telescope at the Lowell Observa-
tory, Flagstaff Arizona, by Dr. C. O. Lampland.
The two white arrows point to the newly dis-
covered planet.
The bright star showing the crost lines of
light is Delta Genunorum. It was used as a
guide in the search — success of which was pre-
dicted 16 years ago by Dr. I'ercival Lowell,
founder of the Observatory.
Keystone View Co.—AP
initely known to be one of the planetoids
or minor planets.*
This was distinctly not the case with
Pluto, whose motion was found to be
very slow, showing that it lay far out in
our system from the sun.
Or if a newly found object is a comet
it often, tho not always, reveals its na-
ture by its peculiarly-shaped head and
tail or again it may betray its position by
its rapid motion. Comets are pickt up as
they drift by not far from the earth and
are not followed outward away from the
sun and earth very far, because they can
not be seen at great distances.
* Or the body might be identified from the
known orbits of many of the planetoids. The
Bureau des Longitudes in Paris, publishes
every two years an up-to-date list of the
minor planets and the elements of their
orbits.
Lowell Observatory withheld the news
of the discovery for a month and a half,
then, satisfied that the new object was,
actually, the ninth major planet of our
system the press was informed of tho
event.
The day chosen for giving out the
news was March 13th, an anniversary of
the discovery of Uranus, also the natal
anniversary of the late Percival Lowell,
founder of the observatory.
News of the discovery of a ninth
major planet was not at once given cred-
ence—naturally enuf, for other observa-
tories wanted to confirm the discovery
by observations and measurements of
their own.
For a time, a number of astronomers,
both here and abroad, have continued to
refer to what they call "Lowell's Comet,"
not that they seriously doubted the ac-
curacy of the announcement but, owing
to the decidedly new feature of the new
planet's orbit—its great eccentricity — a
certain amount of skepticism was voiced
as to whether the newly found body, in-
stead of being a true major planet were
not a "planetary object," possibly a
"planetoid."
To understand what was implied,, the
reader should turn to Figure 1 which
shows a plan view of the solar system.
The point of view, as the reader looks
down from the north pole of the system
—which happens to lie in the same gen-
eral direction as the north pole of either
the earth or the sun projected into space
—and the view shows the planets all
moving about the sun in the sense op-
posite to that of the hands of a clock.
The sun, center of the figure, is not
shown, nor are the two innermost
planets, Mercury and Venus, owing to
lack of space; but outward and in order,
from the sun are shown the orbits of our
earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus
and Neptune, together with what is ac-
tually a trial orbit for the new planet.
For convenience in drawing, the orbits of
all planets except the latter are drawn
circular using as radii the mean distance
of the various planets. Actually the
orbits described by the older planets are
elliptical but only slightly so. In the
case of Neptune for instance its orbit is
so nearly circular that even if it were
 PLUTO 93

V
7 SO* Loryfh/de
Y

(XV. isa5

A—%
■f/ j>y\ \
k Js \ ^\V \
___ ^IT

/ / *7 if\^\
/so* =*= [7 | 1 T
1 ^
Longrt-wcU 1 I \ "V ^ ^ V / O'Lon^ituctt

V \ X \ A /4-I99S-
\ \ —\ 7 1 r
\ \ \ r** J/y k N
\ \ '?K. \( T 9o /
\ / /Jy
\ — \ X0
\v \

^ yh*0
/\*

y>0

Ky
X.TO* Lonjphjde.
FIG. 1. PRELIMINARY ORBIT OF PLUTO
Projected on the Plane of the Ecliptic, as seen from the North Pole of the
Ecliptic. (Note: Use years near 1930 only.)

drawn in exactly correct, the eye would
have difficulty in seeing that the orbit
was not circular. With the new planet
you will note that it, unlike any of the
other major planets, moves in an orbit
which is a greatly flattened ellipse. As
it so happens the path of Pluto, shown in
Figure 1, is approximately correct for a
short arc either way from the 1930 posi-
tion and the amount of flattening of the
ellipse, termed the "eccentricity," is too
great, yet even with the latest and quite
reliable figures the ratio of the minor and
major axis of Pluto's orbit is as 1 to 4
still a fairly flat ellipse. It was chiefly
this flattening-out of Pluto's orbit that
has led certain astronomers to hesitate
calling Pluto one of the major planets
and instead to give it the rather anoma-
lous term of "planetary object." There
is now, as we shall see further along, no
remaining ground on which to question
94, MERCURY

Pluto's right to title as a major planet of Gemini. It is a point of reference, at

our system. present, in locating Pluto. The photo-
Shortly after the news of the dis- graph is of a highly magnified view. The
covery the work began of computing the other "stars" photographed with Wesat
orbit of Pluto. At that time I wrote to are very faint. One of them, the one
the Naval Observatory at Washington, to which the arrows point is the new
D. C., requesting that I be furnisht with planet: an object of but the 16th mag-
the elements of the new body when they nitude in brilliancy and invisible to the
were available. Under date of April naked eye. From Pluto to Wesat at the
21st I received a reply from which I time the photograph was taken, was only
quote in part: about one-seventh of a degree of arc and
"Harvard College Observatory has were Pluto visible to the unaided eye ic
announst the following elements of the could scarcely be distinguisht from its
object resulting from preliminary com- bright neighbor so small was the arc be-
putations by the Lowell Observatory tween them. Remember with this that-
staff in collaboration with Dr. John A. Pluto's movement from January 23 to
Miller, Director of the Sproul Observa- March 23 Was a" mere two-tenths of a
tory, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania: degree and you will quite readily see that
• - Mean Equinox 1930.0 so small a movement is wholly incapable
Node 109o21'
of yielding anything like an accurate
Inclination IT^l'
orbit even tho it can be useful, thanks
Log. semi-major axis . .2.3359
to precise measurements and calculations
Longitude, perihelion 12° 5 2'
Eccentricity in outlining a short arc of movement
,0.909
Mean daily motiont near the time of discovery.
1.112"
Mean anomaly ^...,.3 20,47"
o
Such has proved to be the case. With
Distance from sun 41.3 astro-units
the coming of summer time the sun has
"The orbit is based on Lowell obser- come too near the new planet to make
vatory observations made on 23 January, observations profitable but in the mean-
23 February, and 23 March. Considera- while researchers have not been idle. I
ble revision of some of the elements, have just received a letter from Prof.
especially the eccentricity, may result John A. Miller dated July 30 and I am
from observations covering a longer taking the liberty of quoting from it, as
arc." it summarizes the progress made to date:
I have computed yearly positions for "After the preliminary orbit .... had
Pluto employing these elements and the been publisht by Lowell Observatory, it
results are' given in the accompanying was possible to locate approximately
drawings and tables. I chose the time those plates, taken several years ago,
limits as between 1850 and 1950 and the which would likely have the image of
drawings show graphically the solutions. Pluto on them. The plates from which
The tables are only complete from 1910 the orbk^was computed at Mt. Wilson
to 1940 as computations beyond those were taken in 1919 and those observa-
dates would be unjustifiable. tions were combined with the observa-
It should be stated here that the object tions made in 1930, giving .... a period
of the preliminary orbit is to outline the of 251.8 years Later, Ross at Yerkes
path followed by Pluto for a number Observatory found the planet on a plate
of years, say ten to fifteen years back, so taken in January 1921 and on another
that it will be possible to pick up earlier taken in January 1927. Pluto was also
positions of Pluto from prior records. found at Uccle on a plate taken in
The photograph reproduced herewith January- 1927. Leuschner computed
will give the reader a very good idea of from "all this data, including the Mt.
what Pluto lookt like at its discovery Wilson data, and also from observations
this spring. The light-struck image at made at Flagstaff, another orbit which
the lower right of the photograph is the was based on eighty observations in all.
bright star Wesat, classified as Delta of He found a period of 249.2 years: 1
t The reader should understand here am sure there is no question that these
motion in anomaly, not in longitude, etc. later orbits approximate the truth. When
 PLUTO 95

the orbit was publisht from Lowell Ob-
servatory there was available for com-
putation an arc of twelve minutes which
the planet had described in two months.
We were aware that in all probability
the orbit we obtained was not entirely
trustworthy and publisht it as a pre-
liminary orbit which we hoped would
enable astronomers to discover the image
of the planet on plates taken sometime
ago. That was just the result. The
elements that have been changed most
have been "a" and "e".t The inclina-
tion of the orbit and its node are not
very different from any of the other
computations.' ' tronomy."
"But of course the final orbit wall be
much more accurate after a few more
years of observations. I think there is
no likelihood that it will vary greatly
from the elements that have been given
by Mt. Wilson and by Leuschner."
In fine, it should be understood that
the orbit of Pluto depicted in figure 1
gives approximately true longitudes for
a few years either way from the present
year. A more accurate orbit is much
less eccentric. A statement given to the
press on June 17 by Prof. Harlow
Shapely of Harvard Observatory sets
forth the eccentricity as 0.2500 and
further states the perihelion, where
Pluto is nearest the sun, to be in the
year 1988 when Pluto will He slightly
within the mean orbit of Neptune.
In employing Figure 1 therefor con-
sider only a short term of years either
way from 1930 and consider the arc cir-
cular or tilted slightly so that as time
increases over this short arc the body
draws nearer the sun. The line of nodes
is approximately correct but the peri-
helion shown should be dis egarded.*
Figure 2 is useful as an illustration oftime desired.
the tilting of the orbital plane of Pluto.
It is a true projection. The tilting is
correctly shown but only dates near 1930
should be regarded and the perihelion is
reacht in north instead of south latitude. began with the 244th day. Eight plus
The inclination of Pluto is over seven-
teen degrees. Most of the major planets
t The semi-major axis and the eccentricity.
* Figure 1, by the way, was drawn with multiply 2 into the "100 day movement"
radial distances of Pluto equal to the
radius-sectores of the planet for a par- of 0.55 degrees to obtain 1.10 and mul-
ticular reason which is now pointless.
have orbits which lie nearly in the plane
of the ecliptic, varying but a degree or
two from it. Mercury is the sole excep-
tion save Pluto, with an inclination of
seven degrees.
The tables of the yearly positions of
Pluto should prove useful for the bal-
ance of the present year or until other
tables become available. The yearly
positions are given for the beginning of
each year. These positions were in each
instance computecl by correcting the
elements of the preliminary orbit and
employing the tables of true anomaly to
be found in Watson's "Theoretical As-
To use the tables all that is necessary
is to pick out the values for the year
desired and if not near the beginning of
the year to interpolate for the required
month in the year. This can easily be
done by inspection except in the case of
the longitudes and right ascension. To
interpolate in longitude see the table of
months and find the day of the year with
which the month begins. Likewise, if
no ephemeris is handy, pick out the
approximate longitude of the sun shown
opposite in the table of months. Add
the day of the month to both the values
selected and the results are the day in
the year of the day desired and the
approximate solar longitude.
With the first of the three digits of
the day of the year multiply it into the
value shown for the "movement in longi-
tude for 11 days." Multiply the nearest
second digit into the tabular value of the
"movement in longitude for 10 days,"
then add both movement values to the
longitude for the beginning of the year.
The result will be the approximate
heliocentric longitude of Pluto at the
For instance suppose it is desired to
know the approximate longitude of
Pluto on the eighth of September, 1920.
That year was a leap year and the month
244 is 252, the day of the year. Like-
wise 8 plus 158 is 160 degrees, the
approximate solar longitude. With the
day of the year, 252, proceed as follows:
tiply 5 into the "10 day movement" of
96

31

o-

O
O) u d)
o TJ
3 3
O s:
o
lu
LU

QJ>
o
o>
a. jt -C
X- -C
o
% D
o O
d) Co

a
CL

Fig. 2
Preliminary Orbit of Pluto
Projected on Vertical (Y-Z Plane)
to the Ecliptic.
 PLUTO
0.06 to obtain 0.30 degrees. Add 1.10
and 0.30 degrees to the new-year longi-
tude of 92.0 degrees and the result is
93.4 degrees. The third digit if small
can be disregarded.
The value of 93.4 degrees is still only
the heliocentric longitude. From it we
pass to the geocentric longitude. The
geocentric longitude could not be
found by interpolating between the
yearly values owing to its eccentric
changes whereby it apparently accel-
erates and at times retrogrades. To
find the geocentric longitude in the ex-
ample above subtract the longitude of
Pluto, 93.4 degrees, from the solar longi-
tude, 166 degrees nearly. To avoid a
negative result add 360 degrees to 93.4
degrees and from the sun, 453.4, sub-
tract 166, yielding 287.4 degrees. Then
with this value of 287 odd degrees enter
the table of parallax found herewith.
Use only the value of 41.0 units for "K"
(40.0 is close enuf) and disregard
incidentally all the values of "K" which
may be found in the table of yearly posi-
tions. Opposite 287 degrees (290
degrees is close enuf) and under "K"
equal to 40 will be found 1.4 degrees.
Since 287 was entered at the right hand
side the correction of 1.4 degrees is ad-
ditive so that when it is added to the
heliocentric longitude of 93.4 degrees we
have the geocentric longitude of 94.8
degrees, or 4.8 degrees of Cancer, if we
choose to write it that way.
A change in right ascension propor-
tionate to the change in geocentric longi-
tude will be a very fair approximation
to the desired right ascension, within the
limitations of these tables.
Any values selected or calculated from
these tables should be labelled "P. O.",
indicating its calculation from the pre-
liminary orbit. This will avoid misun-
derstanding in the future when more
accurate tables appear.
All tables and considerations of an
orbit aside, the discovery of Pluto is a
milestone in astronomical progress. One,
if not the most fascinating, of problems
for astronomers, has been the extension
of our own solar system.
Once it was believed that the solar
system extended no further than to
97
Saturn, beyond which was the empyreum
of the fixt stars. Saturn was the last
of the "sacred seven" that we read about
in Dante's writings.
It is said of the great astronomer.
Tycho Brahe that in one of his years
of exile from his native Denmark that
he visited the young astronomer Kepler,
in Germany. Kepler was then engaged
in turning out an elaborate model of the
solar system based on the regular poly-
gonal solids, the so-called "Platonic
Solids". As there are only five such
solids Kepler imagined that a definite
limit was set thereby for the solar sys-
tem. As a matter of fact the ratio of
inscribed and circumscribed diameter
to these solids in a certain order do give
a very fair approximation to the mean
distance of the planets and sun from the
earth and Kepler was enthusiastic about
his model. Brahe, with the tolerance of
the mature man, did nothing to discour-
age the young astronomer but advised
him to engage in those researches which
are today the fundamentals of modern
astronomy.
With the discovery of Uranui. in 1781
the idea of limiting the solar system at
Saturn had to be somewhat modified.
The astronomer Bode, who named
Uranus, developt, or rather gave pub-
licity, to a so-called law which bears his
name. This law, an empirical one, yields
the mean distance of the planets from
the sun according to a certain numerical
series.*
But Bodes' Law did not last very long.
On the night of September 23, 1846
Neptune was discovered optically in con-
sequence of the calculations of Lever-
rier. It was pickt up within 52' of the
precise point that Leverrier had indi-
cated. However, when Adams and Lev-
errier attempted to lay down a prelim-
inary orbit for Neptune they ran into
difficulties. They assumed that Neptune
obeyed Bode's Law. It did not and their
assumptions proved seriously incorrect.
It is astonishing how some people will
cling to old laws which are obviously
empirical. There are actually some who
claim that because Neptune does not
(SEE PAGE 100)
• See Young's Manual of Astronomy" page
312.
 98 MERCURY

YEARLY POSITIONS OF PLUTO

(As Per Preliminary Orbit)

Movement
HELIOCENTRIC in GEOCENTRIC
Longitude De- R.
Lati- Longl- 100 10 Lati- Longi- clina- Ascen-
DATE tude tude Days Days tude tude tion sion

0 Jan. 1909 —13.6 58.4 1.12 .11 22.2 14.0 S b 26.6 6.0 N 57.5
" 1910 —12.8 62.5 1.07 .11 22.9 13.2 " n 0.9 7.5 " 61.5
" 1911 —12.0 66.4 .99 .10 23.7 12.4 " " 5.0 9.1 " 65.4
" 1912 —11.1 70.0 .93 .09 24.5 11.5 " " 8.8 10.5 " 68.9
" 1913 —10.3 73.4 .88 .09 25.4 10.7 " " 12.4 11.8 " 72.4
" 1914 — 9.5 76.6 .82 .08 26.2 9.9 " " 15.7 13.0 " 75.6
" 1915 8.8 79.6 .76 .08 27.1 9.1 " " 18.8 14.0 " 78.6
" 1916 8.0 82.4 .71 .07 28.0 8.3 " " 21.8 15.0 " 81.6
" 1917 7.3 85.0 .67 .07 28.9 7.5 " " 24.5 15.9 " 84.3
" 1918 6.6 87.5 .63 .06 29.8 6.8 " " 27.1 16.8 " 87.0
" 1919 5.9 89.8 .59 .06 30.8 6.1 " " 29.5 17.5 " 89.5
" 1920 5.3 92.0 .55 .06 31.7 5.5 " EE 1.7 18.1 " 91.8
" 1921 4.7 94.0 .52 .05 32.7 4.8 " " 3.8 18.7 " 94.0
" 1922 4.1 95.9 .49 .05 33.6 4.2 " " 5.8 19.2 " 96.2
" 1923 3.6 97.8 .47 .05 34.5 3.6 " " 7.7 19.7 " 98.2
" 1924 3.0 99.5 .44 .04 35.5 3.1 " " 9.5 20.1 " 100.2
" 1925 — 2.5 101.2 .42 .04 36.4 2.6 " " 11.2 20.5 " 102.0
" 1926 — 2.1 102.7 .41 .04 37.4 2.1 " " 12.8 20.8 " 103.7
" 1927 — 1.6 104.2 .39 .04 38.3 1.6 " " 14.3 21.2 " 105.3
" 1928 — 1.2 105.6 .38 .04 39.3 1.2 " " 15.7 21.4 " 106.9
" 1929 0.7 107.0 .36 .04 40.2 " 17.1 21.6 " 108.5
OO
d

" 1930 0.3 108.3 .34 .03 41.1 0.4 " " 18.5 21.8 " 109.9
" 1931 0.0 109.5 .33 .03 42.0 0.0 " 19.7 22.0 " 111.3
" 1932 + 0.4 110.7 .32 .03 43.0 0.4 N " 20.9 22.3 " 112.7
" 1933 111.8 .31 .03 43.9 " 22.1 22.5 " 114.1
OO
d

00
d

+
" 1934 + i.i 112.9 .30 .03 44.8 i.i" " 23.2 22.7 " 115.3
" 1935 + 1.4 113.9 .28 .03 45.7 1.4 " " 24.2 22.7 " 116.4
" 1936 + 1.7 114.9 .27 .03 46.7 1.7 " " 25.3 22.8 " 117.6
" 1937 + 2.0 115.9 .26 .03 47.6 2.0 " " 26.2 22.9 " 118.6
" 1938 + 2.3 116.8 .25 .03 48.4 2.3 " " 27.2 23.0 " 119.7
" 1939 + 2.6 117.7 .24 .02 49.3 2.6 " " 28.1 23.1 " 120.7
" 1940 + 2.8 118.6 .23 .02 50.2 2.9 " " 29.0 23.2 " 121.8
 PLUTO 99

PARALLAX DATA:
Heliocentric to Geocentric Longitude Beginnings of Months

Longi- Longi- Approxi-

tude tude mate
Pluto Pluto Leap Common Longi-
Less Use Parallax Use Less Year Month Year tude
Sun Sign (K=40) Sign Sun Day Beginning Day of Sun

0 .0 + 360 0 0 January 0 280

2 .0 + 358 31 0 February 31 311
5 .1 + 355 60 0 March 59 339
10 .2 + 350 91 0 April 90 10
15 .4 + 345 121 0 May 120 40
20 .5 340 152 0 June 151 70
+
25 .6 335 182 0 July 181 98
+
213 0 August 212 128
30 .7 + 330
244 0 September 243 158
35 .8 + 325
274 0 October 273 187
40 .9 + 320
305 0 November 304 218
45 1.0 + 315
335 0 December 334 248
50 1.1 + 310
60 1.2 + 300
70 1.4 + 290
ZODIACAL SIGNS
80 1.4 + 280
(Geocentric Longitude)
90 1.4 + 270
100 1.4 + 260
Zodiacal Begins
110 1.4 + 250 Sign Symbol at
120 1.3 + 240
130 1.1 + 230 Aries T 0
135 1.0 + 225 Taurus y 30
140 .9 + 220 Gemini H 60
145 .8 + 215 Cancer 2d 90
150 .7 + 210 Leo SI 120
155 .6 + 205 Virgo TIB 150
160 .5 + 200 Libra 180
165 .4 + 195 Scorpio tt). 210
170 .3 + 190 Sagittarius } 240
175 .1 + 185 Capricorn V3 270
178 .1 + 182 Aquarius zz 300
180 .0 + 180 Pisces ^ 330
100 MERCURY
obey Bode's Law, it doesn't somehow
really belong in the solar system. What-
ever value such an inference holds in
metaphysical thought it is hard to see
any worth for it at all scientifically.
Indeed we would be hard up if we could
not find some newer "law" that would
include Neptune also. There are two
such, at least, that will; one of which
is a very pretty one indeed, based on a
series ordered by the arrangement of the
leaves about the stems of planets. You
will find that on page 107 of H. E.
Lick's "Recreations in Mathematics^.
The inclusion of Neptune in our sys-
tem does not need the support of "laws"
governing its relative distance from the
sun and the planets. It has long been
noted that successive planets in our sys-
tem have a tendency to "twin-up". Thus,
excepting Mercury with a hypothetical
interior planet (Vulcan?) we find Venus
and the earth to be neighbors and almost
of a size. Mars pairs off supposedly with
the Abelian planet which was "spoiled
in the making", whose remnants are
thought to be the "asteroids". Then
Jupiter and Saturn are neighbors and
pair off nicely in size and sure enuf,
Uranus and Neptune fall readily in line.
Neptune is no doubt a bona-fide member
of our system and now there is no reason
why we should not include Pluto too
even tho Pluto must remain unpaired
until a next step forward is taken, when
perhaps, a twin for him may be found!
The discovery of Pluto brings us to
the present time and brings us into new
territory. Its disc has not yet been seen
but presumably will be, before long. A
statement given to the press on May 31st
gives the mass and size of Pluto as
about that of Mars. It is therefore a
much smaller planet than its immediate
inner neighbors. I might add that Pluto
is of a yellowish color. It's next two
inner neighbors, Uranus and Neptune,
are both of a blueish color. It is, at
this time forthy-one and three-tenths as
far from the sun as our earth is. The
light it receives from the sun is com-
parable to that given by an ordinary 50
watt "bulb" twenty or so yards away.
A newspaper could be read, with a little
t D. Van Nostrand & Co., New York.
difficulty, even on Pluto in daylight altho
very possibly many things might inter-
fere with so doing. One thing that
someone on Pluto need hardly fear is a
"hot spell" such as the United States
has sweltered under this summer, for
it must be intensely cold on such a small
planet as Pluto at that remote distance
from the sun and it is still pleasant, if
unprofitable, speculation, whether their
can be any life possible or not on that
far planet.
Possesst of a very eccentric orbit
Pluto differs greatly from the other
planets in that respect and of course
Bode's Law now goes supremely to pot.
But of all the novel features brot to our
attention by the discovery of Pluto per-
haps the most significant is the possibility
that we may be on the point of greatly
extending our knowledge of interstellar
space by the extension of the known
limits of our solar system to within
equatible measurements as compared
with the nearer of the vast dimensions
of the-universe.
To understand what this means, see
figure 3. No illustrator has yet at-
tempted to draw our solar system to
scale with the nearest of the fixt stars
because no discernable drawing would
result. The preliminary orbit set up for
Pluto envisaged a probable extension of
our system to nearly twenty-three tril-
lions of miles or about two hundred and
forty six times further from the sun
than we are. The actual orbit of Pluto
does not extend as far out as the pre-
liminary orbit assumed but we are not
for that reason to assume that it will
not prove true for other wanderers to
be discovered in the future. The ap-
helion, or in other words, the greatest
distance of Pluto, following the prelim-
inary orbit becomes one sixty-fourth of
an inch to a scale which would place
Alpha Centauri, the nearest fixt star,
at twenty inches away. Figure 3 shows
the relative distances graphically; the
half-distance to the center of the near-
est extra-solar system and the aphelion
of some supposed planet of our system,
beyond Pluto. It is interesting to note,
in correction with inter-planetary and
interstellar distance the similitude be-
 PLUTO 101

n0fPlut0 0066
5U.H^? -

\
nfll Jfe Dis+ancc from out- sun -fo nearest fixed stai; 4.3 L.Y

Figure 3.
tween what we note on the huge scale
with what we know to obtain in the
relations of electrons to atoms and the
distances between electrons and atoms
and inter-atomic separation. The ma-
crocosm and the microcosm evidently
follow the same pattern.
While we are referring to other pos-
sible bodies beyond Neptune it is well
to know that Prof. W. H. Pickering has
been laboring to locate, besides Planet
"O" which is related to Pluto, two more
bodies which he has called "P" and "S".
Some wisp or another of evidence points
to these hypothetical bodies.t
T .. - - . t t i actuallyJ discovered at the eighteenth
I regret exceedingly that I have been
unable to get hold of any of Dr. Per
aval Dowel s writings on the trans-
Neptunian planet which has since been
found. Seemingly the demand for the
Contrast these figures with what we
now know of Pluto. Yerkes Observa-
tory at 1-53-47 G.M.T., on the 17th of
March measured Pluto to be in:
Right Ascenslon 7h.15m.14s.
(qj. geocentric longitude ....107o28'53")
Declination North 2207'18"
Tr i. tv i • > i i.
, " we com^te Pickering s planet O
to1". • )ve1- ? 14 t0 J36,?,. ,, f
P1 0
"f "? declination and altho about one
z dia cal s,
° , 1 f £further a ong ,than
"aI P13"^ Ti W?. T Tv, •Se. SIg^
°£ the eP?chal Ioneitude'»
de e
f ' o£ .Cancer-W111'3 P!ut° Wfu
degree of Cancer that in a was
fortuitous, what seems to have been
the real accomplishment of the research-
ers ^ the approximate location of the
ascending node of pluto (actuaiiy in

T.T Chas
Philadelphia °plf available locaI
'5;' in
been very great. How- nineteen of Cancer) and when Pluto
came close t0 its nod as it did earl
ever I have been able to make some notes this it was found,
from the writings of Prof. Pickering
who has continued in Dr. Lowell's fool- But surely there has been glory enuf
steps since the latter's passing. You will in the finding of Pluto to satisfy every-
find at the end of Prof. Pickering's one engaged in the search for it. The
article on "A Search for a Planet beyond happy feature about it all is the way in
Nepiune" _ the following assumptions which many workers share in the praise
made by him in 1909 for the hypothetical for findine' it
s
planet "O": '
Right Ascension 7h.47ni., (or 116045') Clyde Tombaugh, from Kansas, a
Declination ..., North 21° self-made student of astronomy, had
Further for the epoch of 1900.0 he been engaged in his calling only a few
has the following: months when he found the tell-table
Longitude 105.8° plate
F
Mean Distance 51.9 units
Sd^;;i MSon The le s o£ the
" |iant telescope at
Lowell observatory that magnified the
t Planet "P" supposedly 19 times the mass • „_(
lma -pi,.+_ k,r ^
of the earth, o/llth magnitude, 6.3 trillions ge of Plut0 waS he^n not by a
of miles from the sun; Planet "S" only 5 manufacturer of optical goods but by an
times the mass of the earth, of the 10th amateur, a clergyman in a New England
magnitude and distant about 4.5 trillions of •, who
Clt
, was
♦-k
miles. Further see Prof. Pickering's writ- y seized with the desire to
ings. turn out a mammoth lens.
102 MERCURY
Then, of course, there was Dr. Per-
cival lyowell* of Boston who started all
this business to uncover Pluto. Origin-
ally no astronomer at all, but a well-
known globe-trotter; he turned to astron-
omy in later life with the avowed object
of locating trans-Neptunian planets. As
he was a man of means it was not hard
for him to establish the observatory
which he needed to carry out his work
and which now bears his name.
Lowell Observatory has amply justi-
fied the efforts of its founder and we will
hear more from it in the future.
* The new planet was named Pluto not only
for the significance of the myth concerned
but also because the first two letters of the
name are the initials of Percival Lowell.
The letters PL may be used as a monogram
for the new planet until a suitable symbol is
adopted. This may be best done by writing
a somewhat smaller capital "L" over the
shank of the other letter.
 AN ACCURATE ORBIT OF PLUTO
Final Tables on the New Planet, Which are Likely to Remain
Permanent for Some Years
By Ijeut.-Commander Walter M. Wynne, U. S. Navy
N the September,
1930, issue of "Mer-
c u r y ," there ap-
peared an article by
me on Pluto: the
newly - found plane-
tary "object" beyond
Neptune.
To the editorial
comments that I made regarding the new
body I have nothing to add at this time.
I have, however, to offer a satisfactory
outline of Pluto's orbit. In the last
article I could only refer to the prelim-
inary orbit, or rather one of the pre-
liminary orbits of Pluto, and to those
who read my article the delineation of
the trial orbit must have seemed to them
to end "in the air", as it were, since only
a portion of the orbit was described and
that with an injunction to exercise care
in employing it except very near to the
present year, 1930.
Truth is, that the computation of
Pluto's orbit has gone forward at such
a pace that it has been impossible to
adequately report its progress in a
quarterly magazine. No less than
eighteen separate and distinct "orbits"
have been calculated; the last of which
(No. 18) is a very satisfactory one and
bids fair to remain the most accurate
orbit that we can obtain for some years
to come. The reason for the excellence
of No. 18 is that it comprises no less
than 136 observations of the body, in-
cluding four from photographs made in
1919, one in 1921 and two in 1927. Be-
cause it reconciles all of these observa-
tions and covers a period of nearly eleven
years, accurately, it must be the very
best that can be done until not a few
more 3',ears of observations are made or
unless the image of the body can be
located on photographic plates taken be-
fore 1919.
149
I shall not attempt to give the elements
of Orbit 18. They will be found together
with much other interesting matter in
Tick Observatory Bulletin 427.* I shall
proceed at once to a short description of
Pluto's orbit and then complete this ex-
position with a few numerical examples
for the benefit of those who may wish to
use the tables which follow.
Turn to the diagram of the orbit. The
central point is the sun. The first small
circle is the approximate orbit of our
earth at one astronomical unit of distance
from the sun. The outer circle is drawn
with a radius of .50 such units and is
divided into degrees which are the de-
grees of heliocentric longitude since
everything is centered on the sun and
the plane of the paper is the ecliptic
plane. The reader looks at the figure
from the general direction in space to
which the north poles of either earth or
the sun point.
All of the planets so regarded—Pluto
included—revolve about the sun in a
counter-clockwise sense. The orbits of
Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus
and Neptune are represented as circles
at their mean distances. This is not far
from the truth, generally, and moreover
these better-known objects revolve about
the sun in what is very nearly the
ecliptic plane.
Pluto's path is decidedly elliptical. The
plane of the orbit cuts the ecliptic plane
in the "line of nodes" and is inclined a
little more than 17 degrees to the ecliptic
plane. Therefore the reader, looking at
fig. 1, should remember that the portion
of Pluto's orbit lying to the left of the
line of nodes extends rather well above
the plane of the paper and is in north
latitude whereas the portion to the right
* Address: Students' Observatory, Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley, Calif.
150 MERCURY
of the line of nodes lies below the plane
of the paper, in south latitude. Pluto has
very recently passed thru the ecliptic
plane at its ascending node: from south
to north latitude. That node is now* in
longitude 109° 21' 36.9". The planet
will continue as indicated by the years
written along its trace and on February
27, 1989 will be at a point nearest to the
sun. This is its "perihelion": indicated
on the diagram by the Greek letter "pi".
The perihelion is now in longitude
222° SCK 3.0" and the distance at
perihelion will be 29.549 units.
Pluto was in its last perihelion on
December 29, 1739, in longitude 219°
51' 31.2"—it has therefore a "period" of
249.1661 years. It was farthest from
the sun on July 28, 1864. If we con-
nect the nearest and farthest points we
have a projection of the long or "major"
axis of the orbit-ellipse. This is shown
on the diagram. The sun is at one
focus of the ellipse—the other focus lies
in space, in south latitude, at a point be-
yond the orbit of Uranus as indicated by
the point "F" on the projection. An
approximate minor axis is also drawn
in, showing the "centre" of the ellipse in
space beyond Saturn's orbit.
This should give the reader an idea
of the great distances comprehended in
the movement of Pluto.
The short tables of Pluto which follow
give at five or ten year intervals the
heliocentric position of Pluto from 1740
to 2000 :$ more than one complete
"swing-around". That part from 1870
to 1940 is tabulated for the beginning of
each year and is adapted for the use of
the average reader. It will be noted that
positions for the beginning of any one
year are given both on the heliocentric
and the geocentric scheme but the reader
•At the beginning of 1930.
t I should have stated that the tables have
been checkt for errors by various means.
They agree with the 1891-1930 ephe-
meris publisht in Lick Observatory Bul-
letin 427.
must remember that the geocentric posi-
tions are set forth merely as a guide in
the computation. In the preparation
of an ephemeris it is the heliocentric
positions, generally speaking, that are
computed and we pass from them to the
geocentric ones so practical to us on
earth, by certain transformations. The
heliocentric positions are relatively very
easy to work up; the geocentric ones are
no longer computed directly because the
earth is "off-centre" in the solar system
and motions as seen from the earth be-
come complex.
We shall proceed in the usual way
with an actual example.
Let it be required to find PlutP's posi-
tion on August 8, 1881. Enter, then, the
line with 0 January 1881 and find helio-
centric § longitude 57° 43.6'. The figure
following, 4.63', is the amount in longi-
tude Pluto is moving during a month of
30 days. August is the 8th month and
August 8th is nearly 8^4 months from
the start of the year. Therefore multi-
ply 4.63' by 8JL equalling 38.2' and add
to 57° 43.6' to obtain 58° 21.8' which
will be the heliocentric longitude desired.
To pass to the geocentric longitude put
aside the figure last found, for a moment,
for we will return to it again. The next
step is to subtract the heliocentric longi-
tude of Pluto from the sun's longitude
on August 8, 1881. If the reader does
not possess an ephemeris of 1881 he can
do well enuf by referring to the appended
table of months and noting that at the
beginning of August the solar longitude
is about 128°. On the 8th of the month
the solar longitude is approximately 128°
plus 8° or 136°. On subtracting 136°
from 58° 21.8' (first adding 360° to
58° 21.8') we obtain 282° 21.8' which
we will use solely to enter the table of
parallax to be found immediately follow-
ing. The reader will probably have
§ The reader will not find the heliocentric
latitude given. He will have little need
of it and it does not vary greatly from its
geocentric equivalent.
 AN ACCURATE ORBIT OF PLUTO
noted a column headed "K"$ after the
heliocentric longitude and its monthly
advance and noted that in August 1881
its value was just under 47^. Enter the
table of parallax and interpolate between
280° and 290° for the value 280° 21.8'
(or 282.4° nearly); also interpolate be-
tween the vertical values of 45 and 50
for the particular value, 47^4, for K.
The parallax will be 1° 9.8'. Opposite
280° or 290° will be noted the plus sign.t
Therefore add 1° 9.8' to the heliocentric
longitude, 58° 21.8' and write the geo-
centric longitude as 59° 31.6' or say
59° 32' which if we choose may be
written in the nomenclature* of the
zodiacal signs as 29° 8 32', since Taurus
begins at 30° longitude.
. That is all that need be done in com-
puting Pluto's position on 'August 8,
1881. No tables for the conversion into
geocentric latitude and declination are
provided. The effect of parallax is
further compounded as for latitude and
declination and would only add to
further complication. However, the
movement in latitude and declination is
not great. The reader may interpolate
for geocentric latitude or declination
directly but is advised to put his answer
in decimal degrees in order that he may
understand that an error in the last deci-
mal degree may be expected. Thus for
August 8, 1881 we may write geocentric
latitude 13.60S., declination 6.40N.
The effect of movement in the geo-
centric co-ordinates can be best noted by
t Or the radius-vector of Pluto multiplied
by the cosine of heliocentric latitude,
t It might be pointed out, as a generality,
that if the minus sign were indicated the
planet would be retrograding.
* The practice of reckoning in "signs" died
out among astronomers in the opening
years of the last century. Formerly it
was the practice to reckon by signs, de-
gress, minutes, seconds, thirds, fourths,
etc., of arc. The tendency has been to
cut down subdivision to the limit and
more and more to the decimal system
so that now many favor only degrees
and decimal degrees.
151
examining the geocentric ephemeris for
the first half of 1931 in which the values
are given in considerable detail, quite im-
possible to arrive at by simple rule of
thumb.
The values of right ascension are now-
here given. If desired, its value at any
time may be found by summing the log.
cosines of the geocentric latitude and
longitude with the log. secant of the
declination: the sum will be the log.
cosine of the right ascension.
I might add that if one chooses to
split hairs in the above calculation, the
day number of August 8th might have
been looked up in the appended table. It
would be found to be the 212th plus 8
or 220th day of the year or on the 30
day plan that would have been exactly
8 1/3 months. The geocentric longitude
would not have been altered in this in-
stance by this added refinement altho it
is likely that nearer the end of the year
it would have amounted to over one-half
minute. It is suggested therefore that
near the end of the year the advance in
longitude be subtracted from the next
new year instead of adding to the last
new year.
I will conclude with a last example in
brief form which I trust the reader will
have no difficulty in following.
Eet it be required to find Pluto's posi-
tion on November 9, 1932:
November 9=1.7 months from com-
ing new year, 1933. 1.7 times 6.37/
equals 10.83' the negative advance
in question 112° 18.2' is the longi-
tude on 0 January, 1933 less 10.8
equals 112° 7.4', heliocentric longi-
tude November 9, 1932—112° 7. 4'
plus 360° 472° 7.4' less sun's longi-
tude of about 218° plus 9° or 227°
is 245° 7.4' (or 245.1°). "K" is
about 40.6 therefore parallax (inter-
polating) is 1° 17.6' to be added to
heliocentric longitude (112° 7.4')
equaling 113° 25.0' or 23° S 25'.
The geocentric latitude is 0.8oN
and the declination is 22.4°N.
152 MERCURY

EPHEMERIS 1870-1940
Helio- Advance
centric Per Month GEOCENTRIC
Longi- of Declina-
DATE tude 30 Days K Latitude Longitude tion

0 Jan.1870 47 31.0 4.57 47.87 15 S 17 16 y 34 2N 8

" 1871 48 26.6 4.58 47.88 15 " 9 17 " 30 2 " 30
" 1872 49 22.3 4.58 47.88 15 " 1 18 " 27 2 " 52
" 1873 50 18.0 4.59 47.88 14 " 53 19 " 23 3 " 14
" 1874 51 13.7 4.59 47.88 14 " 45 20 " 20 3 " 36
" 1875 52 9.4 4.60 47.87 14 " 36 21 " 16 3 " 58
" 1876 53 5.1 4.60 47.86 14 " 27 22 " 13 4 " 20
' 1877 54 0.8 4.61 47.85 14 " 18 23 " 9 4 " 42
" 1878 54 56.5 4.62 47.83 14 " 9 24 " 6 5 " 4
" 1879 55 52.3 4.62 47.81 14 " 0 25 " 2 5 " 26
" 1880 56 47.9 4.63 47.78 13 " 50 25 " 59 5 " 48
" 1881 57 43.6 4.63 47.75 13 " 40 26 " 55 6 " 10
" 1882 58 39.6 4.64 47.72 13 " 30 27 " 52 6 " 31
" 1883 59 35.8 4.64 47.69 13 " 19 28 " 49 6 " 53
" 1884 60 32.2 4.65 47.65 13 " 8 29 " 46 7 " 15
" 1885 61 28.8 4.66 47.60 12 " 57 on 43 7 " 37
" 1886 62 25.6 4.67 47.55 12 " 46 1 " 41 7 " 59
" 1887 63 22.4 4.67 47.49 12 " 34 2 " 39 8 " 21
" 1888 64 19.4 4.68 47.44 12 " 20 3 " 36 8 " 43
" 1889 65 16.4 4.68 47.38 12 " 10 4 " 34 9 " 4
" 1890 66 13.6 4.69 47.32 11 " 59 5 " 32 9 " 26
" 1891 67 10.7 4.70 47.25 11 " 46 6 " 31 9 " 48
" 1892 4.71 47.18 11 " 33 7 " 29 10 " 10
CO
oo

" 1893 69 4.3 4.73 47.11 11 " 21 8 " 26 10 " 31

" 1894 70 1.5 4.76 47.03 11 " 8 9 " 24 10 " 52
" 1895 70 59.8 4.79 46.95 10 " 55 10 " 24 11 " 13
" 1896 71 58.0 4.82 46.86 10 " 41 11 " 23 11 " 34
" 1897 72 55.3 4.85 46.77 10 " 28 12 " 22 11 " 55
" 1898 73 54.2 4.88 46.67 10 " 14 13 " 22 12 " 15
" 1899 74 52.2 4.91 46.57 10 " 0 14 " 21 12 " 36
" 1900 75 51.4 4.94 46.46 9 " 45 15 " 21 12 " 57
" 1901 76 51.5 4.96 46.36 9 " 30 16 22 13 " 18
" 1902 77 51.5 4.98 46.25 9 " 14 n " 22 13 " 38
" 1903 78 51.3 5.00 46.13 8 " 59 18 " 23 13 " 59
" 1904 79 51.2 5.02 46.02 8 S 43 19n23 14 N 19
 AN ACCURATE ORBIT OF PLUTO

EPHEMERIS 1870-1940
Helio- Advance
centric Per Month GEOCENTRIC
Longi- of :lina-
tude 30 Days K Latitude Longitude ;ion

1905 80 50.9 5.04 45.89 8 " 27 20 " 24 " 39

1906 81 54.2 5.06 45.77 8 " 11 21 " 29 " 0
1907 82 54.3 5.08 45.63 7 " 55 22 " 31 " 20
1908 83 55.7 5.10 45.49 7 " 39 23 " 34 •' 39
1909 84 58.0 5.12 45.34 7 " 22 24 " 38 " 59
1910 5.15 45.19 7 " 5 25 " 42 " 18

rH
O
CO
OO
1911 87 2.8 5.18 45.04 6 " 47 26 " 46 " 38
1912 5.22 44.88 6 " 29 27 " 50 " 57

co
LO
00
OO
1913 89 3.2 5.25 44.72 6 " 10 28 " 53 " 17
1914 90 7.0 5.29 44.60 5 " 52 29 " 58 " 35
1915 91 16.2 5.34 44.39 5 " 33 1 EE 4 " 54
1916 92 21.3 5.38 44.23 5 " 14 2 " 10 " 12
1917 93 26.2 5.43 44.03 4 " 54 3 " 16 " 30
1918 94 32.1 5.48 43.84 4 " 35 4 " 23 " 48
1919 95 39.4 5.54 43.66 4 " 14 5 " 31 " 5
1920 96 48.0 5.60 43.47 3 " 54 6 " 41 " 23
1921 97 53.5 5.65 43.28 3 " 34 7 " 49 " 40
1922 99 0.1 5.71 43.07 3 " 13 8 " 57 " 57
1923 100 11.4 5.77 42.87 2 " 52 10 " 10 " 12
1924 101 20.3 5.83 42.66 2 " 30 11 " 21 " 29
1925 102 28.7 5.90 42.45 2 " 8 12 " 31 " 44
1926 103 40.4 5.97 42.24 1 " 46 13 " 45 " 0
1927 104 51.2 6.04 42.01 1 " 24 14 " 58 " 13
1928 106 5.0 6.10 41.78 1 " 1 16 " 13 " 26
1929 107 15.2 6.16 41.54 0 " 38 17 " 26 " 41
1930 108 29.4 6.22 41.32 0 " 15 18 " 42 " 54
1931 109 45.4 6.28 41.08 0N 8 20 " 0 " 6
1932 111 1.7 6.33 40.83 0 " 31 21 " 18 " 18
1933 112 18.2 6.38 40.58 0 " 54 22 " 37 " 28
1934 113 35.2 6.43 40.33 1 " 19 23 " 56 " 38
1935 114 53.2 6.49 40.08 1 " 43 25 " 16 " 47
1936 116 12.0 6.57 39.82 2 " 7 26 " 37 " 55
1937 117 32.0 6.65 39.54 2 " 32 27 " 59 " 2
1938 118 53.6 6.75 39.28 2 " 57 29 " 23 " 9
1939 120 16.7 6.85 39.01 3 " 23 0 SI 48 " 16
1940 121 41.4 6.96 38.74 3 " 49 2 " 15 " 23
 154 MERCURY

PARALLAX DATA:
Heliocentric to Geocentric Longitude Beginning of Months

Longi- Longi- Approxi-

tude tude mate
Pluto -VALUES OF K - Pluto Common Longi-
Less Use Use Less Month Year tude
Sun Sign K=35 K=40 K=45 K=50 Sign Sun Beginning Day of Sun

> / o / o / O /
0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 + 360 0 January 0 280
2 3.3 2.9 2.5 2.4 + 358 0 February 31 311
5 8.4 7.3 6.5 355 0 March* 59 339
6.0 +
0 April* 90 10
10 16.6 14.6 13.0 11.7 + 350
0 May* 120 40
15 24.0 21.7 19.3 17.5 + 345 0 June* 151 70
20 32.7 28.8 25.6 23.1 + 340 0 July* 181 98
25 40.5 35.5 31.7 28.5 + 335 0 August* 212 128
0 September* 243 158
30 47.9 42.1 37.5 33.8 + 330
0 October* 273 187
35 0 55.2 48.3 43.0 38.8 + 325 0 November* 304 218
40 1 1.7 54.2 48.3 43.5 + 320 0 December* 334 248
45 1 8.0 0 59.7 53.2 47.9 + 315 ♦ NOTE: If month Is in leap-year
add fl) to the common
50 1 13.9 1 4.8 0 57.7 52.0 + 310 year day.
60 1 23.8 1 13.5 1 4.8 0 59.1 + 300
70 1 31.4 1 20.1 1 11.2 1 4.1 + 290
80 ZODIACAL SIGNS
1 36.2 1 24.8 1 14.9 1 6.9 + 280
(Geocentn<c Longitude)
90 1 38.2 1 25.9 1 16.4 1 8.8 + 270
100 1 37.2 1 25.5 1 15.5 1 7.7 + 260
Zodiacal Begins
110 1 33.2 1 21.5 1 12.4 1 5.1 + 250 Sign Symbol at
120 1 26.3 1 15.4 1 8.2 1 0.8 + 240
130 1 16.6 1 6.9 0 59.4 0 53.4 230 Aries T 0
+
1 1.8 54.8 Taurus a 30
135 1 10.7 49.2 + 225
140 1 4.5 0 56.4 50.0 220 Gemini n 60
44.9 +
145 0 57.7 50.3 44.6 40.2 215 Cancer 5E 90
+
150 50.4 43.9 39.0 35.0 210 Leo a 120
+
155 42.5 37.0 32.8 29.8 205 Virgo m 150
+
160 34.5 30.0 26.7 24.0 200 Libra 180
+
165 26.0 22.8 20.1 18.1 + 195 Scorpio n 210
170 17.6 15.3 13.6 12.2 + 190 Sagittarius t 240
175 8.8 7.7 6.8 6.0 + 185 Capricorn V3 270
178 3.5 3.1 2.7 2.4 + 182 Aquarius 300
180 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 + 180 Pisces 330
 AN ACCURATE ORBIT OF PLUTO

i.'.

\ ISSS

*- ~
«o
<vf/ 3(0

.<0

Hi Jiu
\K
MO
R*

HELIOCENTRIC GEOCENTRIC
0 Jan Lat. Long. K DATE Latitude Longitude
/ // / //
1740 15 N 49 219 52 28.43 Dec. 30,1930 0 N 715 20 S 2 54 4 12
1750 11 " 22 246 5 29.51 Jan. 7,1931 " 7 46 19 " 53 39 6 13
1760 5 " 29 26 8 47 31.51 Jan. 15, " " 817 19 " 4411 8 13
1770 0 S 28 288 34 33.88 Jan. 23, " " 8 46 19 " 34 30 10 12
1780 5 " 37 305 49 36.26 Jan. 31, " " 917 19 " 24 54 12 6
1790 9 " 41 320 57 38.48 Feb. 8, " " 9 47 19 " 15 42 13 54
1800 12 " 43 334 31 40.50 Feb. 16, " " 1016 19 " 7 11 15 34
1810 14 " 50 346 49 42.29
Feb. 24, " " 10 45 18 " 59 34 17 4
1820 16 " 12 358 13 43.85
1830 16 " 58 Mar. 4, " " 1114 18 " 53 6 18 24
9 38 45.27
1840 17 " 8 19 8 46.28 Mar. 12, " " 1142 18 " 47 55 19 32
1850 16 " 52 28 53 47.10 Mar. 20, " " 12 12 18 " 4410 20 27
1860 16 " 10 38 20 47.64 Mar. 28, " " 12 40 18 " 4159 2110
1865 15 " 41 42 56 47.80 Apr. 5, " " 13 9 18 " 4124 21 39
Apr. 13, " " 13 38 18 " 42 29 2155
1945 5 N 50 128 58 37.33 Apr. 21, " " 14 8 18 " 45 12 21 58
1950 8 " 3 136 55 35.86 Apr. 29, " " 14 36 18 " 49 32 2148
1960 12 " 20 154 53 32.90 May 7, " " 15 3 18 " 55 24 2125
1970 15 " 46 176 6 30.31 May 15, " " 15 32 19 " 2 40 20 52
1980 17 " 9 200 28 28.69 May 23, " " 15 58 19 " 1117 20 8
1990 15 " 28 226 28 28.48 May 31, " " 16 25 19 " 21 4 1914
2000 10 " 57 25133 29.66 June 8. " " 16 50 19 " 31 51 18 11