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I ❤️ Pluto Festival 2026: Night of Discovery at the Orpheum Theater
February 14 @ 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
$25.33 – $73.15
Lowell Observatory presents a Night of Discovery, commemorating the anniversary of Clyde Tombaugh’s discovery of the icy world Pluto on February 18, 1930. This is the keynote event of the 7th Annual I Heart Pluto Festival. This year’s theme is Mother Road to the Stars, in recognition of the centennial of Route 66 and its Pluto heritage.
General Admission Ticket Required Separately.
Meet Eminent Space Experts
Headlining this year’s event is a presentation that explores our past, present, and future understanding of one of the most storied and celebrated bodies in our solar system, Pluto.
Participants include:
- Dr. Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of the New Horizons mission.
- Dr. Chad Trujillo, co-discoverer of the massive dwarf planet Eris, whose discovery led to the reclassification of Pluto 20 years ago.
- Andy Chaikin, award-winning science journalist and author of A Man on the Moon, the classic book about the Apollo mission to the Moon and the basis of the Tom Hanks HBS miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.
- Dave Eicher, Emeritus Editor in Chief of Astronomy magazine, will moderate the discussion
Other presentations include:
- Alice Bowman, Mission Operations Manager of the New Horizons Mission, will also be on hand to gift Lowell Observatory a scale model of the New Horizons spacecraft.
- Arizona State Representative Justin Wilmeth, who authored the bill recognizing Pluto as Arizona’s official state planet, will give an update about his efforts to establish a spaceport in Arizona.
- Christopher Fox Graham, Editor of the Sedona Red Rock News, will perform a poem he wrote about Route 66 and its space heritage.
- Stoker Stoker, Lowell Observatory Senior Presentation Specialist, will share the remarkable connection between Route 66 and Pluto.
Books by some of the presenters, as well as commemorative posters and other items that may be signed by the presenters, will be available for purchase onsite.
Explore Space Art Displays
The International Astronomical Artists Association (IAAA) will display a variety of space- themed art throughout the Orpheum.
Part of I ❤️ Pluto Festival 2026 , an event celebrating the 96th anniversary of Pluto’s discovery on February 18, 1930. It is organized by Lowell Observatory.