The Observatory

Climb the stairs up to the Museum's Observatory. Be our guest and take a peek through our 60 inch refractor telescope at some of the mysteries surrounding space and time:

Olympus Mons: The Mega-Volcano - In 2013 scientists announced a startling discovery: At the bottom of the Pacific Ocean they had discovered a gigantic volcano that was the largest on Earth. As massive as this volcano is, however, it is only the second largest one in our solar system. That particular accolade belongs to the volcano Olympus Mons on the planet Mars.

The Rings of Saturn - Of all the wonders of the solar system, none are quite as amazing as the rings of Saturn. Saturn, the second largest planet in our solar system, is not the only world with rings - Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune have some too - but Saturn's are by far the most visible and spectacular.

Requiem for a Planet: Pluto - For almost three-quarters of a century schoolchildren learned that our solar system had 9 planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Then in 2006 this changed. Pluto got demoded and suddenly there are only eight planets. What happened? Why did poor Pluto get kicked out of the planetary club?

Are We Alone?- It was once assumed that Earth was just a typical planet in a run-of-the-mill solar system. Some evidence is beginning to appear that suggests this isn't true. If so, what does this mean about life on other planets?

The Great Space Elevator - A wild concept that was purely science fiction 20 years ago, might reach reality in just another 20 years.

The Spaceship that Never Was - In the late 1950's a group of American scientists had a dream of using a nuclear bomb propelled spaceship to get to Saturn by 1970. The effort was scuttled because of politics, but would the idea have worked?

The Great Moon Landing Hoax - Somebody is certainly hoaxing us here, the question is whether it is NASA or the people that claim man never went to the moon...

Comet Halley: Harbinger of Death? - In 1910 when this cosmic visitor swung by the Earth many people thought it was literally the end of the world.

The X-Planets - Throughout the centuries astronomers have searched for new planets, often without success. Is there a 10th planet in our solar system still waiting to be found, or is looking for it simply a wild goose chase?

Castastrophic Cosmic Alignment? - Can the sun and planets line up across the solar system and cause disaster here on Earth?

The Impossible Rocks that Fell from the Sky - See why at one time the best scientific minds in the world didn't believe that meteorites existed.

The Great Siberian Explosion - Something big fell out of space in 1908 and exploded over Siberia with the force of an H-bomb. Was it a meteorite? Or a UFO?

Venus in the Corner Pocket - The controversial theories of Immanuel Velikovsky.

Bethlehem's Star - What did the Magi seen in the sky 2000 years ago?

The Mysterious Moons of Mars - How did the writer Jonathan Swift know about the two moons of Mars a century before they were discovered?

Where is all the Antimatter? - According to theory half the Universe should be made of antimatter. If so, why can't we find it?

Flash Movie: Conjunctions and Occultations - What does it mean when two planets are in conjunction? What's a triple conjunction? What happens during an occultation? This flash movie will explain it.

Flash Movie: Meteor Impact! - When a really big rock hits the Earth, what happens? Find out in the flash movie.

Oceans of Earth - Of all the acknowledged worlds both in our solar system and circling distant stars, Earth is the only planet known to have liquid oceans. And it's probably no coincidence, either, that our world is the only planet we know of that also harbors life.

Copyright Lee Krystek 2001. All Rights Reserved.