Based on our current knowledge of the motions of Uranus and Neptune, it is obvious that Pluto's discovery was a triumph of physics, on par with Adams and Leverrier's work in finding Neptune.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Pluto's discovery was largely accidental and not the result of predictions based on perturbations in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930 while conducting a systematic search for a ninth planet, but it was not the predicted Planet X that was thought to cause perturbations in Uranus and Neptune's orbits.

Based on Our Current Knowledge of the Motions of Uranus