The
Observatory
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The Observatory. (Copyright Lee Krystek,
2001)
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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.