More than 45,000 nights have passed since the first telescope arrived on Mars Hill. In that time, Lowell astronomers have been at the forefront of astronomical research. It was here that Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930 and V.M. Slipher first detected the expanding nature of the universe nearly two decades earlier.

That tradition continues today with the observatory’s state-of-the-art Lowell Discovery Telescope and the ongoing discoveries being made by the current generation of Lowell astronomers and planetary scientists.

Every planet, star, and galaxy has a unique story to tell, and Lowell scientists are internationally recognized experts at revealing and interpreting those stories.

Current research at Lowell is remarkably diverse. Some Lowell scientists study the Sun, planets, comets, asteroids and other members of the solar system. Others study the life cycles of stars and the planetary systems orbiting them. Still others explore galaxies, mysterious dark matter, and the farthest reaches of the universe.