The Computer That Found Pluto

Shame may’ve been cast on Pluto for masquerading as a planet, but that doesn’t mean the “mechanical calculating device” that helped find it in our wide, wide sky is any less important. Particularly when it’s called “The Millionaire”.

The Swiss machine was used between 1914 and the early ’30s, when it was used to discover Pluto. A woman controlling the machine would use it to calculate the orbit of “Planet X”, and once it was found, the machine was no doubt cast aside in Lowell Observatory’s rickety attic in Flagstaff, Arizona, until it was put on display years later. [Flickr via Boing Boing]

Image Credit: Sicsnewton