The annual I Heart Pluto Festival in Flagstaff, Arizona, celebrates the history, heritage, and cutting-edge astronomy at Lowell Observatory. On Feb. 18, 1930, the young astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto, considered for decades a planet and "demoted" to dwarf planet status in 2008.
This year's festival, which took place from Thursday, Feb. 13, through Sunday, Feb. 16, celebrated Tombaugh's achievement with a variety of events, including the dedication of a new beer, "To Boldly Go," at Flagstaff's Mother Road Brewery; a Pluto pub crawl; and a screening of the film "For the Love of Spock," which was produced by Adam Nimoy, the son of actor Leonard Nimoy.
The main event was a panel discussion on Saturday evening at the Orpheum Theater, featuring Adam Nimoy, David Levy, Alan Stern, and Dave Eicher. The discussion explored all manner of questions and answers about Pluto, Lowell Observatory, Clyde Tombaugh, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, and of course Leonard Nimoy and Star Trek.
Other events during the festival included a show at Lowell's Dark Sky Planetarium focused on the big questions of the cosmos, such as exploring whether we are alone in the universe; and a tour of the 4.3-meter Lowell Discovery Telescope.
The I Heart Pluto Festival is an annual event that celebrates the discovery of Pluto and the other scientific advances surrounding Flagstaff, Arizona.
Good info
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