Griffith Observatory Photo shoot

Last Saturday, we went to Griffith Observatory to take pictures for my photo class assignment. It is one on LA's tourist spot and it has just re-opened late last year. We decided to take the train so we dont need to pay for parking (that goes up to $8) and to save gas as well (that averages $3.20 per gallon) we left the car at North Hollywood station and took the train to Highland station. We arrived around 2pm and waited for the next shuttle which will bring us to the observatory. A couple of years ago, you can just drive up to the hills but now, they got stricter. You need to get permission to bring your own car and you have to be in some "space" club or something. There's also a $1000 fine if you hike and smoke, and the list goes on.

There's a lot of things you'll learn inside the observatory like meteors, old school telescopes, the stars... anything about space. But what strike me the most is that "our" sun is a middle-aged sun and someday it will get bigger then it will explode and become a white dwarf. It's just too sad but it will be billion of years from now. Then there's this pendulum called Foucault that demonstrates Earth's rotation. According to the experiment in 1851, that in relation to Earth, the plane of oscillation of a pendulum undergoes a full clockwise or anticlockwise rotation during one day. It's a very educational experience.

I love the view from Griffith Observatory because you can see the whole city and LA's skyline. It's such a romantic view. I actually wanted to wait for the sunset but we only stayed until 7pm because we got really tired from all the walking. There's also a group of hobbyist and scientist with their humongous telescopes. They let us use their telescope and I was able to see the moon, Venus and the flare of the sun. The sun is scary because it looks like it gonna explode... but to see the moon's crater so clear and so close... that's just sooo cool!!! =P

It was my dad's birthday yesterday. Happy 53rd birthday daddy. I Love you!!! We went to church and had dinner at Pho So, a vietnamese restaurant.

More pix on my flickr site





with A. Einstein