A novel of ambition and obsession centered on the race to discover Pluto in 1930, pitting an untrained Kansas farm boy against the greatest minds of Harvard at the run-down Lowell Observatory in Arizona In 1928, the boy who will discover Pluto, Clyde Tombaugh, is on the family farm, grinding a lens for his own telescope under the immense Kansas sky. In Flagstaff, Arizona, the staff of Lowell Observatory is about to resume the late Percival Lowell's interrupted search for Planet X. Meanwhile, the immensely rich heir to a chemical fortune has decided to go west to hunt for dinosaurs and in Cambridge, Massachussetts, the most beautiful girl in America is going slowly insane while her ex-heavyweight champion boyfriend stands by helplessly, desperate to do anything to keep her. Inspired by the true story of Tombaugh and set in the last gin-soaked months of the flapper era, Percival's Planet tells the story of the intertwining lives of half a dozen dreamers, schemers, and madmen. Following Tombaugh's unlikely path from son of a farmer to discoverer of a planet, the novel touches on insanity, mathematics, music, astrophysics, boxing, dinosaur hunting, shipwrecks—and what happens when the greatest romance of your life is also the source of your life's greatest sorrow.

Pluto looms large in Flagstaff, where residents and businesses alike take pride in their community's most enduring claim to fame: Clyde Tombaugh's 1930 discovery of Pluto at Lowell Observatory. Percival Lowell began searching for his theoretical "Planet X" in 1905, and Tombaugh's "eureka!" experience brought worldwide attention to the city and observatory. Ever since, area scientists have played leading roles in virtually every major Pluto-related discovery, from unknown moons to the existence of an atmosphere and the innovations of the New Horizons spacecraft. Lowell historian Kevin Schindler and astronomer Will Grundy guide you through the story of Pluto from postulation to exploration.

The story of Pluto and its largest moon, from discovery through the New Horizons flyby--Provided by publisher.

Reproduction of the original: Biography of Percival Lowell by Abbott Lawrence Lowell

Did You Know That . . . ?: “Revised and Expanded” Edition: Surprising-But-True Facts About History, Science, Inventions, Geography, Origins, Art, Music, and More is an uncommon compendium of knowledge that will astound, demystify, edify, and debunk. It is a book of ambitious design that is both eminently informative and vastly entertaining. Assiduously researched, it will be the arbiter of disagreements and will stand cherished misconceptions right on their heads. It will also expose factoids, unmask present-day orthodoxy, identify misinformation, clarify the confusing, and present new information. Did You Know That . . . ? is all you need to know . . . for knowledge is power!

Reproduction of the original: Biography of Percival Lowell by Abbott Lawrence Lowell

Emphasizing an appreciation of historical fiction in its many forms and focusing on what fans enjoy, this guide provides a fresh take on a durable genre.

This is the story of one car --a 1911 Stevens-Duryea Model Y "Big Six" -- and its famous owner, Percival Lowell, the American astronomer best known for his studies of Mars and mathematical prediction of the discovery of Pluto. The narrative follows the vehicle, a product of Frank Duryea -- of the pioneering Duryea brothers -- through its time with Lowell and through subsequent owners to its present status as a moving landmark of history. Important developments in the early history of the gasoline-powered automobile are traced to establish the context in which this remarkable vehicle was created. The community in which the Duryea brothers labored, in short-lived teamwork, and their role in the evolution of the automobile industry are discussed. The text also provides an intimate look at the life of one of America's most important astronomers.