Plutomania is Feb. 11 at MONAS
The Museum of Nature and Science (MONAS) will host “Plutomania” 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11.
This is a free, family event that is open to the public, the museum said in a news release.
Every year, MONAS honors the work of local astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, who was born Feb. 4, 1906 in Streator, Illinois and died Jan. 17, 1997 in Las Cruces.
Tombaugh, age 22, discovered Pluto Feb. 18, 1930 after studying images taken the previous month at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona in the search for the mysterious Planet X whose existence had been predicted by astronomer Percival Lowell.
Inspired by Tombaugh’s work, MONAS will celebrate advances in planetary science and space exploration during the Feb. 11, including NASA’s Artemis Program aimed at sending the first women to the moon, the Mars Exploration Program and the James Webb Space Telescope.
Hands-on activities and presentations for all ages will be provided by the museum during the event, with special guests from the NMSU Department of Astronomy and the STEM Outreach Center, Las Cruces Space Festival, Thomas Branigan Memorial Library and Anthony Public Library, the Las Cruces Astronomical Society and local Solar System Ambassadors space enthusiasts.
The event is free and open to the public.
