Planetariums are lowkey potentially the most American thing in existence—does any other country have them?
Edit: nothing to see here, I've just been living under a rock
Not only do they date back hundreds of years, they are located all over the planet. First modern planetarium was built in Germany in the early 1920s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_planetariums
Wow, so we even have them in the UK—gotta say I've found a blind spot today, guess I need to visit my nearest one
Then you can be the one that boos this time. And someone will tweet about that, and someone else will screenshot that and post it elsewhere, where someone else will say that it's only in America, and they'll be taught it isn't... it's all part of the great circle of planetarium
Even if you don’t have kids! It’s a great way to get a feel for stars without having to go out and watch. (Been a bad year for stargazing here. Too warm.)
For people in America…. The eighth has a total eclipse, next one is in 20 years. Just a reminder… if you can get to the path of totality (100%), it is an entirely different experience.
Sadly, I'll miss this one, but I was in the middle of Oregon during that total eclipse. Eerie is one way to put it, but I would say it provides somewhat of an existential experience having the moon fully interrupt the light of our star. The birds go quiet, the temperature drops and a twilight surrounds you whilst still being able to see sunlight off in the distance. I spent time using my camera for a moment or two, but really wanted to fully experience it at the same time. It involved a long time without sleep, but I am very happy I made the journey.
Also seems like a continuation of the ideas of the Pantheon and the Cenotaph for Newton:
https://www.archdaily.com/544946/ad-classics-cenotaph-for-newton-etienne-louis-boullee
huh? why is that?
i know we here in germany have plenty of them and i would assume that the rest of the world has them too.
What do you mean? I'm also in the UK and I went to a planetarium in the National Space Museum.
Don’t feel TOO bad; it’s not like they’re on every street corner.
Usually you’d go to one on say, a school field trip. But not every school does it. I’ve only been to a planetarium once in my life, and it wasn’t until I was in my 20’s.
Definitely go visit one though; they tend to have really interesting shows about what you can see. And there’s nothing quite like actually looking through a giant telescope with your own eyes. My local planetarium even has special sun-telescopes which allow you to view the sun and solar activity safely during daytime.
I've also only been to one once. Leonard Nimoy was there. It was cool.
Only, I was around the age of five when that happened. Reflecting on the event as an adult, I think it might have been a guy who put on Spock ears, then talked about Leonard Nimoy. I'd never even seen Star Trek at that point; I wouldn't have known the difference.
I actually have a second memory of visiting one, but I think that was just an episode of Friends. I guess I was pretty gullible as a kid. (And totally not now.)