Reaching for the Stars

"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" has been one of Hikaru's favorite songs ever since he was baby. Before going to bed at night, we always go outside to "see stars". On this day, Hikaru was very excited because Uncle Paul asked us out on a star date at the Griffith Observatory.



Hikaru points and says that the "moon is broken", and this informative exhibit shows how the moon gets "fixed" every month.



We arrived just in time to catch the planetarium show. This is the first time we've been inside, since it was renovated in 2006. The photo below is of the $7 million Zeiss Mark IX Universarium star projector.



There were comfortable seats that leaned way back, and what a great show! Hikaru still talks about seeing the "stars". The show was about water here on Earth, and we also "traveled" to other planets. It was interesting to learn that Jupiter's moon Europa has oceans of liquid water underneath its icy crust!



The photo below is the observatory's dome. There's a solar telescope, and a 12 inch Zeiss refracting telescope.



On the ceiling of the Observatory's Central Rotunda is a mural depicting the gods and the advancement of science.



And hanging down from the ceiling is the Foucault Pendulum that demonstrates that the Earth does indeed rotate.



Hikaru had a fun time checking out the various exhibits, and pushed every button on every exhibit he could find.



Here he takes a quick peek through a small telescope.



And this is a larger 12 inch refracting telescope on the observatory roof.



Hikaru explores the various planets of our solar system. Then he activates some controls on the warp drive before making a jump to hyperspace.



You never know who you might meet at places like this. Hikaru sits down with Dr. Albert Einstein.