Guest Book - BCC Planetarium & Observatory - Cocoa, FL
N 28° 23.096 W 080° 45.710
17R E 523333 N 3139867
This guest book at the Brevard Community College Planetarium & Observatory is located at the entrance to the gift shop that leads into the Planetarium portion of the facility, which also houses the Astronaut Memorial Hall.
Waymark Code: WM2TZB
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 12/22/2007
Published By:
Mix
Views: 79
There is a lot to see and do at the BCC Planetarium & Observatory. They've got a large-format movie theater that plays science films to the public and to school groups. There are exhibit halls featuring hands-on science and historical artifacts from human spaceflight. They've got the premier planetarium in East-Central Florida. And most importantly, they've got a rooftop observatory featuring a very large telescope that is free and open to the public every weekend. A classroom seating 35 students and a portable "starlab" planetarium round out the varied spaces in the building.
The BCC Observatory is home to the largest public telescope in Florida, which is open every week. Members of the Brevard Astronomical Society operate the telescope, and serve as guides to your own personal tour of the night sky. Planets, fuzzy nebula, double stars, star clusters and galaxies are some of the things you may see on any given night.
The telescope is 24 inches in diameter, and uses a 134 pound glass mirror to collect light from distant objects. That light is then reflected back from a second mirror, which effectively "folds" an eighteen-foot light path into a compact seven-foot-long tube. An eyepiece at the back of the telescope then magnifies the image. Normally, they use magnification from about 150 power to over 400 power.
Strapped to the side of the main telescope is a six-inch diameter refracting telescope that uses a lens to gather ligth. At the rear of this fine instrument is a small video camera, which sends a picture to a television monitor near the control desk. They also have recorded images using this telescope to show to visitors when the sky is not cooperating.
The telescopes are controlled by a set of two computers. One runs "Starry Night," commercial software that presents a simulation of the night sky. Telescope operators can click on any object, and instruct the computers to aim the telscope at that object. These commands go to another computer that runs special software to drive the motors that make the telescope move. These same motors keep the telescope pointed at the same place in the sky as our Earth turns.
Owners Name: BCC Planetarium & Observatory
Location Type: Attraction/Business
Date Guest Book Was Started: Not listed
Nearest Parking Spot: Not Listed
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