Clyde Tombaugh

Clyde William Tombaugh (1906-1997), American astronomer and telescope maker, is renowned for discovering Pluto in 1930 at Lowell Observatory, where he also identified hundreds of asteroids, variable stars, comets, and galaxies. Self-taught, he built his own telescopes and contributed to planetary studies at New Mexico State University from 1955 to 1973, leading the Planetary Patrol project on Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. In UAP/UFO research, Tombaugh advocated continued study of unidentified flying objects after retirement, conducting personal sky patrols and reporting green fireballs near White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico during the 1940s-1950s, amid early military investigations like Project Sign. No formal publications or congressional testimony on UFOs are noted, but his observations linked to government programs. He died in Las Cruces, New Mexico.