Hubble Captures Spectacular "Landscape" in the Carina Nebula (2017-12-08)NASA
For millennia, humans have looked up to the stars, for guidance and for their sheer beauty. Today, with over 50% of the world's population living in light-polluted cities, it's rare that we get to gaze to the heavens. Thankfully, we can visit planetariums.
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Hayden Planetarium, New York
We're stood underneath the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in the American Museum of Natural History. At the centre of this sphere is the theatre itself, providing an unforgettable astrophysical education for many generations.
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Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles
On the west coast of the US, the Griffith Observatory has been entertaining the astronomically-minded public, for free, since it opened in 1935. In the 1960s, the Observatory's planetarium was used by NASA to train Apollo program astronauts for the first lunar missions.
Buzz Aldrin on the MoonAdler Planetarium
And this training, of course, led to the giant leap of lunar exploration!
Apollo 11 Moonwalk MontageNASA
Watch here as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin explore the moon's surface.
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Saji Observatory
In the hills of Tottori Prefecture, Japan, lies Saji Astro Park Observatory and planetarium. It was built in 1994, when the local government of Saji introduced policies to combat light pollution. Asteroid 8738 Saji was discovered by, and named after, this facility.
Horsehead Nebula (2017-12-08)NASA
Are you an avid astronomer? If you really know your stuff, perhaps you know the name given to this nebula, a characterful cloud of space dust?
It's the Horsehead Nebula, spotted within the constellation of Orion by the Hubble Space Telescope. Can you see the shape of a horse's head on the left of the cloud?
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Macau Science Center, Macau
This striking, futuristic science centre was opened in 2009. Inside the conical structure, interactive exhibits aim to inform and entertain visitors about the heavens above. The planetarium offers ultra high 8K definition films in three dimensions.
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Hong Kong Space Museum
Over the water from Macau is the Hong Kong Space Museum. This building is affectionately known as the 'pineapple bun', after the popular Cantonese treat. Each year, the Museum develops a new Sky Show to be shown in its high-tech planetarium.
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National Space Centre, Leicester
England may not have a space programme, but it does have the National Space Centre in Leicester. The museum here is crammed full of space suits, rockets, satellites, and meteorites, and is home to the UK’s largest domed planetarium.
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ʻImiloa Astronomy Center, Hilo
The high volcanic mountains and unpolluted skies of Hawaii make it one of the very best places on Earth for observing the stars. So it's no surprise to find a planetarium on these tiny islands. In the Hawaiian language, ʻImiloa' means 'exploring new knowledge'.
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Space Place at Carter Observatory, Wellington
The southern hemisphere offers a completely different view of the sky. Here in Wellington, New Zealand, the most important stars in the sky include those of the Southern Cross constellation, which has helped navigators since time immemorial and features on the New Zealand flag.
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Tycho Brahe Planetarium, Copenhagen
In the 16th Century, Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe produced some of the most accurate measurements of the stars and planets - and all without a telescope. If only Brahe could see the planetarium named in his honour!
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Galileo Galilei Planetarium, Buenos Aires
In the Parque Tres de Febrero of Buenos Aires, Argentina is the Galileo Galilei Planetarium, commonly known as Planetario. The museum here holds a piece of Lunar rock that was collected on the Apollo 11 mission.
Hubble Views Stellar Genesis in the Southern Pinwheel by NASAMuseu do Amanhã
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