Checking Out the Planets in Los Angeles, California
Rows of telescopes, large and small. Men like modern day Galileo’s asking, “Would you like to see Jupiter? Mars?” At Griffith Park Observatory, you are stunned by two views. The first, a panoramic view of Los Angeles. Stunning lights, the Hollywood sign. The second, the midnight blue and sparkling stars of the Milky Way. Inside the observatory, if you decide to enter, in the Rotunda watch the Foucault Pendulum swing. You will feel compelled to stay until the tip hits the pins reminding us we are on a round planet that spins.
Rows of telescopes, large and small. Men like modern day Galileo’s asking, “Would you like to see Jupiter? Mars?” At Griffith Park Observatory, you are stunned by two views. The first, a panoramic view of Los Angeles. Stunning lights, the Hollywood sign. The second, the midnight blue and sparkling stars of the Milky Way. Inside the observatory, if you decide to enter, in the Rotunda watch the Foucault Pendulum swing. You will feel compelled to stay until the tip hits the pins reminding us we are on a round planet that spins.
If you could take just one photo:
Griffith Observatory
Maybe it’s the most cliché place on Earth sitting on top of the most cliché place. But, if Los Angles is the land of dreams then Griffith Observatory is Heaven, Paradise, and Valhalla all wrapped in one by overlooking the massive bustling city below. In an essence it gives one the power and feeling of Zeus on Mount Olympus staring down upon ancient Greece. The observatory itself was recently remodeled giving it that extra crisp and clean feel to the architecture and the lush gardens surrounding it. As your eyes wander the mountain range behind they stop on the HOLLYWOOD sign giving any camera owner a great opportunity to capture, up close and personal, a piece of history. If that's not enough, many dirty trails blaze up the mountains mixing a mere visual outing into a physical challenge to see how high you can climb in order to experience the perfect view, which leads to one word: Breathtaking.
Elevate away from the black hole pull of Hollywood, home of galactic fantasies, and humanoid stars of various flickering magnitudes. Starting near Griffith Observatory, the dusty trail loops, and you view the famous HOLLYWOOD sign. Wild sage and manzanita spice the open air. Rustles; a lizard darts. Smiling hikers. A picnic table at garden oasis Dante's View beckons, reward for uphill effort, where you ponder the stargazing observatory and the vast sweep of the greater L.A. basin, mountains, and valleys. Star sign behind you, stargazing apparatus below you, biped stars lower still. Oasis thought: We are stardust, we are golden.
If you stand on the rooftop or outdoor balconies of the Griffith Observatory in the evening, you will enjoy unparalleled views of the expanse of Los Angeles. From atop Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park, near Los Feliz, you can peek through large telescopes to study the nocturnal sky above, and also gaze at the vastness of downtown L.A., Hollywood, and West L.A. all the way to the Pacific Ocean. You'll be surprised by the sight: although Los Angeles may be crowded and smoggy during the day, its sprawling urban landscape transforms into a gorgeous shimmering grid in the dark.
Perched high above LA's hip Los Feliz neighborhood in woodsy Griffith Park, the Griffith Observatory is the premier destination (besides the beach of course) for watching sunsets in Los Angeles. Made famous in the James Dean movie Rebel without a Cause, the Observatory is a gorgeous piece of architecture, and the view — all the way across the LA basin to the Pacific, and then some — is truly stunning. As the sunset darkens, head inside to use the amazing Zeiss telescope or catch the last show of the night in the Samuel Oschin Planetarium.
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