Biography of Percival Lowell

The biography follows Percival Lowell from childhood and European travel through extended stays in East Asia to his later career in observational astronomy. It describes his study of Japanese religion, the founding of an observatory chosen for superior seeing, meticulous observations and controversial interpretations of Martian markings, and theoretical work on planetary formation and orbital relationships. The narrative covers his sustained search for a trans‑Neptunian planet and the eventual identification of a new distant body, and includes chapters on illness, travels, and interludes. Two technical appendices evaluate the observatory’s work and later assessments of the outer body's size.