I am not a morning person. However, as I drifted off to sleep, I convinced myself I would get up way too early and drive an hour to Griffith Observatory for the first shots with my 4 new DA Limiteds. Griffith Park opens at 6:00AM, I'm ready to shoot now at 6:15AM.
The ranger just had to park in the doorway...
The Astronomers Monument features Hipparchus, Copernicus, Galileo, Keppler, Newton, and Herschel. On top is a 900-pound, hollow bronze armillary sphere - an astronomical instrument composed of rings representing celestial latitude, longitude, and the ecliptic. Prior to the invention of the telescope, it was the main instrument used by astronomers to determine celestial position.
Hazy Los Angeles skyline.
There are several small telescopes for your viewing pleasure.
Under the stairs.
Bird of Paradise against the east dome wall.
Astronomers, left to right: Galileo, Copernicus, Hipparchus, Herschel.
Galileo’s work brought him into the hands of the Inquisition. He was imprisoned and forced to recant his belief in the Copernican theory (sun-centered solar system). When released, he was forbidden to teach or publish anything. He retired in broken-down health, and became blind five years before he died at the age of 78.
Actor James Dean monument. Last of his three films was Rebel Without A Cause, set at the observatory and environs. It was released a month after his fatal car accident. The Hollywood sign is behind him. You're tearing me apart!
A little tai chi. The flat object is part of the 150-foot long Gottlieb Transit Corridor which is an accurate outdoor public astronomical instrument. The foil is the thin curving metal panel containing a six-inch, long-focal-length lens. As the Sun moves across the sky each day, the lens sharpens the Sun's light into a spot that moves across the walls and floor of the corridor on the level below.