Griffith Observatory

We went to the Griffith Observatory this weekend. It was another top 10 thing to do when I moved here and I have been reallllly into the universe lately (thanks to Netflix streaming of The Universe that I watch nightly) so timing was perfect.

I had no idea that the observatory was so huge and complex! Wow. I guess I didn't really have any expectations so I was pleasantly surprised.

The ceiling of the entry

Inside the lower level. Sean thinks this was recently added on because he didn't remember going down there before.

?

Meteorite display

Cosmic dust!! Isn't it beautiful

The dark side of the moon

Best planet in the universe. You betta rep. it!

I mean, seriously, who thinks of these things?

More of the basement

"Take a picture next to the Einstein statue"

"Ewwww everyone say 'Germs!'"

LOL

Where I live in the entire map of So-Cal

I couldn't really get a good shot of this but it says, "Your Weight on Uranus" which is funny enough but it makes me like 115 lbs. I wanna move to Uranus now. LOL

Hollywood!

Hawk flying over the canyon

View from the mountain side

Instagram version

Great shot

I love birds sitting on bare branches

We hiked over to a shady spot on the mountainside after a failed Geocash attempt while we waited for the sun to set. I needed to get away from the people and the kids for a minute. The place was swarming with people and children running everywhere and I am going to blame hormones for this, but I was soooo over it and needed a breather. It worked. I liked that spot.

 

Sunset over Hollywood and Santa Monica

Isn't this a crazy rad shot? Sean didn't even know I was taking it and it came out fabulous!!

I don't think he knew I took this one either haha.

Architecture.

Even his profile makes me swoon.

Looking over the edge...probably thinking of hawking one on someone. haha

Meeeeee

Instagram version called, "Scope and the City"

Observatory after sunset

Love these!

I'm not going to lie...I've learned a lot about the universe lately. Like:

-There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on the earth

-The center of the Milky Way Galaxy is a SUPER MASSIVE BLACK HOLE! I am pretty sure I thought our sun was the center this whole time.

-A solar sun flare could hit the earth within 16 hours and cause massive power and satellite outage.

-A solar flare is a massive burst of plasma from one of the suns spots and I actually got to see a live image of the sun and there was a black spot aimed right at us! 

-2012 is the next "active" year for sun flares...every 11 years

-The sun isn't even big compared to how big suns can be in the universe.

-The center of the moon is a solid core of iron and it is slowly moving farther away from the earth.

Relearning stuff is awesome! I'm sure I knew this stuff a long time ago but my burnt ass forgot most of it. I'm sure I filled that area of my brain with useless rap lyrics but I got it now. I am sooo obsessed with it. haha. So this was an awesome experience for me and I enjoyed taking some great pictures while we were up there. Definitely suggest this spot to anyone visiting the area. Best part...it was allllll free!

P.S. - Earth is totally the shit!