A Day at Griffith Observatory

As part of my quest to find fun, cheap things to do in the Los Angeles area, I came across Griffith Park Observatory. Located on the slope of Mount Hollywood, I can imagine that once upon a time, it would have been a great site for star-gazing. Now, with the extensive light pollution, I doubt it is very active as anything other than an attraction for hikers in the area and the astronomer nerds among us. But since admission to the museum itself was free, I figured it would be a nice way to spend a day. The observatory was constructed in 1933 and opened in 1935, fourteen years after the death of Griffith J. Griffith, a Welsh immigrant who came to California as a newspaper reporter, but making millions with his knowledge (or inside information?) about mining. In 1912, after a two year stint in prison for shooting his wife in the face, he gifted a significant portion of his land to the City of Los Angeles, requesting part of his money be used to build a Greek Theater and the Observatory. Apparently, the city balked at his donation and it wasn't until his death in 1919 that the city took possession, as required by his will. So off I set. There's a roadway that will take you to the Observatory, though they warn that parking is limited and often fills up on the weekend. Rather than drive, and considering my need to lose weight, I decided to find a spot and take one of the innumerable trails. This is the point at which I should have done more research. It turns out there are dozens of trails through Griffith Park, some leading to the Observatory and other leading to what I'm sure must be a long and painful death in the desert. I may be wrong about the send option, but why take a chance. I followed the road briefly then struck out along a path next to what is said to be a bird sanctuary. I didn't see any birds, and it appears L.A. Parks and Rec is working on rebuilding parts of it. As I trekked on, raising above the sanctuary, I could see where, in non-drought conditions, there are ponds and waterways laid out. I bet it looks very nice when there's water. Man, that what I forgot to bring!
My personal dehydration aside, there are a lot of people wandering the trails here. The path I followed was fairly rain gutted at first and somewhat narrow. But it widened out after a fairly short climb. Normally, I would say the climb was fairly moderate, not too steep, but I realized quickly that its been almost two years since I've hiked last and I could feel my heart pounding.

To make matters worse, I began to realize I had no idea how to get to the Observatory from where I was at! I mean, yes, I could have asked any of a dozen people walking past me, "Excuse me, is there an observatory around here?" I'm sure they would have been more than helpful. My inability to speak due to the heavy breathing prevented me from asking though. The good news was that as I made the next curve, I found the Observatory. A bit away to be sure, but the objective was in sight. After about a 30 minute hike, and a few shortcuts, I found myself there. Walking through the pines, I almost felt like I was back at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. The building is beautiful. As you walk onto the grounds, though, the first thing the eye is drawn to is the Astronomers Monument, a Public Works Art Project designed for the Observatory, it features six of the most famous astronomers in history: Hipparchus,Nicholas Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton and William Herschel.
Also, as you make your way in watch for the Solar System Lawn Model, a scale model of the planets that helps give you a sense of the overwhelming size of our system. Once you find your way inside, there are numerous exhibits displaying the history of astronomy and the scope of our solar system. There are two that I found amazing.

The Foucault pendulum is a 240 pound brass ball suspended on a 40 foot cable. The brass ball swings in a consistent direction, while the plane below it moves with the Earths rotation. This causes the ball to knock over different pegs set around the outside of the platform. Well, that kind of sounds boring. Actually, this device, introduced in 1851, was the first visible proof that the Earth is in rotation around its axis, not stationary. In other words, the Sun does not orbit the planet. Pretty revolutionary.


 The other exhibit that really caught my attention was the Cosmic Connection.This 150 foot corridor is lined with a collection of hand crafted jewelry, providing a visual depiction of the flow of time from the Big Bang to the human era. All the pieces are connected to space and are truly beautiful. It's a very elegant display that gives you a real sense of how little time we've actually existed.

There are a number of other exhibits, from the periodic table, with samples, to the telescopes themselves. The planetarium and Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon theater  offer a number of programs. One I may have to go back for is All Space Considered, a public lecture on the first Friday of each month. The lectures are space and science news and presentations and are often run by astronomers from local universities. It sounds like an exciting program. 

For more information about the Griffith Observatory, including directions and visit information, visit the observatory website at http://www.griffithobservatory.org/