Astronomy 101

Section #4045

Griffith Observatory Field Trip Report

Arizandy Rios

July 5, 2017
 Table of Contents

1. Astronomers Monument, Sundial, and Orbits .. Page 2

2. Foucault Pendulum and Tesla Coil ..Page 3

3. Meteorites and Our Moon ....Page 4

4. Centered in the Universe ..Page 5

5. Conclusion .Page 6

1
 Astronomers Monument, Sundial, and Orbits

The trip to the Griffith Observatory was a captivating and eye opening experience. Full of tons of

astronomical exhibits and information for example the Foucault Pendulum, the Tesla Coil, and

the replica of Galileos first telescope. However outside on the north side of the building there is

a monument called the Astronomers Monument. A monument which is dedicated to some of the

most significant astronomers from the past. The astronomers who were on the monument were

Hipparchus (about 150 B.C), Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642),

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), Isaac Newton (1642-1727) and William Herschel (1738-1822). In

honor of their many great contributions and discoveries of astronomy.

As you walk around you notice the orbit of planets in our solar system for example like

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto have a longer space apart but the orbit of Mercury,

Venus, Earth, and Mars have a much shorter distance apart. Also near was the Sundial which

was used to tell time a long time ago. As explained in the sunlight the shadows of the wire

indicate the correct watch time on the ring.

2
 Foucault Pendulum and Tesla Coil

As soon as you enter the observatory you see people crowding over what is called the

Foucault Pendulum. It was invented by a French physicist Jean Foucault in 1851. The sphere

seems to be moving around but in reality it is just swaying back and forth in the same direction.

What causes the pendulum to knock over the pegs on the floor is because Earth is moving.

First I viewed the Wilson Observatory exhibited

which included one of the most significant telescopes of all

time. The telescoped which was named the Hooker

telescope being named after John D. Hooker who payed for

its construction and was actually used by Hubble to

accomplish his discovery that the universe is expanding.

Observing that there are many galaxies out there and

getting farther away from us.

One of the most famous exhibits the Griffith

Observatory has to offer is the Tesla Coil. It converts

low-voltage alternating current electricity to very high voltage and increases the frequency. It is

named after its inventor, eccentric genius Nikola Tesla who displayed his first model in 1891.

The goal of the Tesla coil was transmission of electricity through the air, part of a great dream to

provide electricity without using wires.

There was also the Periodic Table that contained actual

samples for each element.

3
 Meteorites and Our Moon

Arriving at the meteorite exhibit I was actually astonished by how many meteorites have

hit California. Most of the meteorites look like any normal rock that you would find on Earth but

big difference is the material the rocks are made out of. The different types of meteorites are

iron, stony iron, and stony. Iron meteorites are from the core of an asteroid, the stony meteorites

come from a shattered meteorite that impacted

Earth dramatically, and the stony iron meteorite is

made from the inside of a asteroid.

There was also an incredible exhibit on our Moon! With a short description on how the

Moon is our closest neighbor in space. The astronauts who visited the Moon studied it as any

geologist would. Visiting its vast cratered plains and leaving their footprints on its ancient dusty

surface. Even bringing home a part of the moon! Which helped explain the Moons relationship

to Earth and allowing us to understand

our solar system even more.

4
 Centered in the Universe

The planetarium show called the Centered in the Universe had to have been the best part about

the whole experience. Something never experienced. Most of the information being said were

things that we had discussed in class already however seeing it visually and on the big screen

gave everything a much better understanding. Topics that it included were about constellations,

the North Star Polaris, the Sun, Galileo, Hubble, and of course the Universe!

The images being so clear that you actually felt like you were outside in the night far

away from the city of course seeing the stars or even as if you were actually in space. As well as

feeling as if you were moving but it was just the illusion of the show. It went over how in ancient

times everyone seemed to believe the solar system was geocentric. Also showing the famous

Galileo Galilei and his discovery of the 4 moons of Jupiter and as well as showing Hubble and

his discoveries that the galaxies are getting farther and farther away from each other. The showed

talked about dark energy and dark matter in between the galaxies. Ending beautifully with a view

of Los Angeles and with the sun rising viewing it from the Observatory.

5
 Conclusion

The Griffith Observatory was an amazing place to visit. With many different and

interesting exhibits it has to offer. Such as the Tesla Coil exhibit that is truly incredible and

electrifying, along with the exhibit of our Moon and even a piece of our Moon right in front of

our eyes, being able to learn more about the planets in our solar system and even being able to

see how much more or less you weigh in each planet.

The show however was definitely my favorite part of it

all. Being able to sit back or better yet lay down and

actually see everything that we have discussed in class

was truly an unforgettable experience. The trip to the

Griffith Observatory was honestly a memorable and

mind opening trip.