#Hashtag: The Kansas connection to Pluto

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Even though 12 years have passed since Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet, the world is still excited to see the images from National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) New Horizons flyby.

The discovery of Pluto had a Kansas connection. Clyde Tombaugh, the man who discovered the dwarf planet, lived in Kansas for most of his childhood and attended the University of Kansas where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in astronomy.

Around 9 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday, NASA received the call that the New Horizons successfully performed the first-ever flyby of Pluto.

“I know today we’ve inspired a whole new generation of explorers with this great success, and we look forward to the discoveries yet to come,” Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator, said. “This is a historic win for science and for exploration. We’ve truly, once again raised the bar of human potential.”

While many were very excited to see close up pictures, some tweeters expressed their true feelings about Pluto’s dwarf planet status.

And of course the Pluto jokes took over twitter as the picture release time drew near.

One tweeter asked a very important question regarding the delay between NASA receivng the images from New Horizons and the rest of the world.

Regardless of the reason for the delay, the pictures will go live at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

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Jamie Teixeira
My name is Jamie Teixeira and I am a senior English and journalism with a minor in Leadership. I am the president of Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society, a tutor at the K-State Writing Center,and a member of the K-State Tap Dance Ensemble. My future plans are to become an editor or publisher of children's literature. Outside of school I love to read and cuddle with my kitten, Bert.

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