What secrets does the observatory in "La La Land" hide?

Author: Du Lian

Audit│Ding Yi

Editor: Zhao Jingyuan

Griffith Observatory (Image courtesy of Griffith Observatory)

Griffith Observatory is located on the Hollywood Hills in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. It overlooks the beautiful scenery of Los Angeles and is one of the landmark buildings in Los Angeles. In 1935, Griffith Observatory was completed and opened to the public free of charge. It is managed and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. Because it is adjacent to Hollywood, as the saying goes, "the closer you are to the water, the sooner you get the moon", dozens of movies and TV series have been filmed at Griffith Observatory, such as the famous "La La Land", "Transformers", "Terminator", etc. These movies have left a deep impression on the public.

Overlooking Los Angeles from Griffith Observatory (Photo: Du Lian)

In 1882, American entrepreneur Griffith Jenkins Griffith purchased a 12.2 square kilometer ranch in Los Angeles. In 1896, he donated the land to the city of Los Angeles and proposed to build a park here, which was later named Griffith Park by the city of Los Angeles. In 1908, Griffith visited the Mount Wilson Observatory and used the 60-inch telescope, the largest in the world at that time, to observe. He was deeply touched by the vast universe and believed that "when a person sees distant celestial bodies suddenly become so close and real, his values ​​will be affected; if everyone can watch the night sky through a telescope, it will change the world." In 1912, Griffith donated money to the city of Los Angeles to build an observatory open to the public in Griffith Park, but his donation was blocked for various reasons. On July 6, 1919, Griffith died. He made this suggestion again in his will and left a sum of money for it. In 1933, the construction of the observatory in Griffith Park finally began. It was completed and opened two years later. It was named Griffith Observatory and became the third planetarium in the United States.

Portrait of Griffith Jenkins Griffith, with Griffith Observatory in the background (Image courtesy of Griffith Observatory)

The Griffith Observatory is cleverly designed, opening the door to the public to explore the mysteries of the universe through six main exhibition halls.

The WM Keck Foundation Central Rotunda is equivalent to the observatory's lobby, where a Foucault pendulum is placed. The swing of the copper ball pendulum can demonstrate and prove the rotation of the earth. This is also one of the devices often equipped in planetariums around the world. Above the Foucault pendulum is a mural painted by American artist Hugo Ballin. There is also a small exhibition commemorating Griffith.

The Wilder Hall of the Eye displays the history of people's observation of the starry sky and important astronomical observation equipment. It is worth mentioning that the hall has a scientific antique made in 1910 - the Tesla coil. This is a device that can discharge 1.3 million volts of high voltage.

The Ahmanson Hall of the sky showcases a variety of phenomena that are closely related to us, including chemical elements, seasonal changes, solar and lunar eclipses, lunar phases, tides, and celestial motion. In addition, there are three solar telescopes in the dome on the west side of the Griffith Observatory, which can project sunlight after multiple reflections into the Ahmanson Hall of the sky for the public to observe the image and spectrum of the sun in real time.

The Cosmic Connection, a 46-meter-long corridor leading to the underground exhibition area, depicts the history of the universe from the Big Bang to the present day.

Large picture scroll (picture from Griffith Observatory)

Gunther Depths of Space is located underground and is the largest exhibition hall in Griffith Observatory. The Big Picture exhibited here is a 246 million pixel image, 46 meters long and 6.1 meters high. It shows the public a part of the Virgo Cluster, which contains 500,000 stars in the Milky Way, 1 million extragalactic galaxies, 1,000 quasars, 1,000 asteroids in the solar system, and 1 comet in the solar system. Opposite the Big Picture is a bronze statue of Einstein, who points to the Big Picture, as if answering the mysteries of the universe to the audience. Next to the Big Picture is a "Café at the End of the Universe", which provides a resting place and people can dine here. The name of the cafe is to pay tribute to the "Restaurant at the End of the Universe" in the "Galaxy Travel Series".

The Edge of Space Mezzanine, overlooking the Gunther Space Depth Hall, features a large lunar globe and many meteorites, simulated asteroid impacts, and telescopes for viewing the grand canvas from afar.

In addition to the six main exhibition halls mentioned above, there is a 12-inch Zeiss telescope in the dome on the east side of the Griffith Observatory. This is a refracting telescope that has existed since the beginning of the observatory, and nearly 10 million people have used it to observe various types of celestial bodies. It is open to the public on clear nights and can accommodate up to 600 visitors per night. In addition to popular science purposes, the telescope has also been used for scientific research and recorded the complete light curve of a flare for the first time in history.

12-inch Zeiss telescope (Photo courtesy of Griffith Observatory)

Griffith Observatory also has the Samuel Oschin Planetarium, a planetarium with a diameter of 23 meters, equipped with a variety of state-of-the-art projection equipment, such as the Zeiss 9-type cosmic planetarium, which can show a variety of popular science programs.

Now let's go to the outside of the main building of Griffith Observatory, where there is a large green lawn. In the middle of the lawn stands the Astronomers Monument built in 1934, on which six great astronomers are carved: Hipparchus, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton and Herschel. Griffith Observatory also regularly provides small astronomical telescopes and holds star parties on the lawn to encourage people to maintain their love for astronomy and take time to look up at the stars.

Astronomers' Monument (Photo courtesy of Griffith Observatory)

Griffith Observatory is not only a landmark building in Los Angeles, but also a bridge connecting humans and the universe. It not only enriches people's spiritual world, but also inspires countless people's interest in astronomy and science, allowing them to move forward firmly on the road of exploration and constantly pursue excellence, and makes more people believe that no matter how far the dream is, as long as you have the courage to pursue it, you will be able to touch the stars one day.

References

1. Li Yuan, Window to the Universe: Visiting the World's Famous Planetariums and Observatories, Posts and Telecommunications Press, 2017.2

2. Zhong Bingming, Photo: Griffith Observatory: If the public can look up at the stars through astronomical telescopes, the world will change, Tsinghua University Science Museum WeChat, November 2022

3. Zhang Nan, Foucault Pendulum: Making the Earth's Rotation Visible, Astronomy Enthusiasts, Issue 5, 2020

4. Griffith Observatory, Beijing Planetarium, https://www.bjp.org.cn/twbl/4028f10f712a14c501712a1778360014.shtml

5. Public Telescopes, Griffith Observatory, https://griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/telescopes/

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