Astronomy The United States Of America

Florida, its tropical climate, beautiful beaches, alligators, sensational leisure parks… and Kennedy Space Center! Those who spend a few days in the region, especially on the Orlando side, know that it is very difficult to draw up an exhaustive list of all the attractions to do so much the offer is large and varied. But if you look at the things of the sky, the Kennedy Space Center is an unavoidable one to visit, a monument to the history of space conquest through such glorious names as the Apollo mission or the space shuttle program. The entry ticket to this mythical complex is not given but, as often with the Americans, it is for its money with a scarcity of things to see and do: touch the spacecraft that has gone into space, which has trampled the soil of other planets, see the launchers of all generations as close as possible since the beginning of the space conquest, use a flight simulator to mock its capsule in space, attend exceptional film projections (IMAX), visit the assembly building rockets, meeting astronauts, and many other activities and animations. We spend the day by chaining the visits, in a heat that blurs the holidays and the lack of stress.

The Mount Wilson Observatory was founded in 1904 by George Ellery Hale, under the auspices of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. That year, the astronomer moved the Snow Solar telescope from the Yerkes Observatory - which specialized in observing the Sun - to the more favorable weather conditions on Mount Wilson. With a small group of scientists and engineers, he began to develop what would become one of the world's leading astronomical research facilities.

The Hooker telescope, then the world's largest at 2.5 m in diameter, was commissioned in 1909. Because of the need to transport various parts from the valley to the summit of the site - at an altitude of 1,742 m - its construction proved tedious. Above all, it took place at a time when Los Angeles and its sprawling suburbs were not as developed: they generated far less of today's problematic light pollution - a parameter rarely considered at the time, in any country.

The Mount Wilson Observatory is also inseparably linked with one of the most renowned astronomers of all time: Edwin Hubble (1889-1953). Thanks to the Hooker telescope, he discovered the distant nature of galaxies and their expansion, the cornerstone of the future theory of the birth of the Universe, the famous Big Bang. In addition to the observatory itself, exploring the site is very pleasant, as the area is partly wooded and boasts many attractive viewpoints.