Dwarf planet Pluto was named by an 11-year-old girl
Recommended for Preparatory Grades
The dwarf planet Pluto was discovered on 18 February 1930.
At that time, an 11-year-old British girl named Venetia Burney suggested the name ‘Pluto’ for the planet to her grandfather. He worked at Oxford University. Pluto is the name of the Roman god of the underworld.
Her grandfather passed the name suggestion to Oxford astronomer Herbert Hall Turner. In turn, Turner suggested this name to the Lowell Observatory in the US and they said yes!
However, most newspapers of that time did not mention that Venetia suggested this name. Only in 1984, the news came out. And that’s how the dwarf planet Pluto got its name!
Later in life, Venetia became a math and economics teacher. She lived to the age of 90 — just long enough to see a tiny spacecraft named New Horizons launch to Pluto. This was 76 years after she named the planet.
We hope you enjoyed reading our Planet news. Isn’t it interesting to read about the different planets in our solar system? And of course, to learn more about dwarf planets, asteroids and comets too. Let’s be curious to know about our galaxy, its quirks and its characteristics. We hope you learn more about our planets, the Milky Way and all the scientific experiments and research that is being done on them too. Keep reading Curious Times for exciting space news for children.
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