While the historic Griffith Observatory is closed to the public for a long renovation, planetarium shows for the public are presented in a sophisticated mini-planetarium that uses full-color all-dome video projection on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and morning school shows are presented in the Griffith Observatory Satellite, located in the northeast corner of Griffith Park near the L. A. Zoo.

The new 21-foot planetarium theater features a fish-eye video projector to show the night sky and its motions in complex ways that the Observatory's venerable Zeiss IV planetarium projector never could, using Starry Night software. Shows are presented by an astronomer who will lead you on a tour of the sky, pointing out constellations and planets and previewing upcoming astronomical events. Shows might include zooming into the moon or a planet for close-up views, a trip to the South Pole, views of the sky as it appeared the day you were born or in ancient times, the conjunction that might have been the Christmas Star, or a trip to another planet (where our earth is a planet in its sky), to another star (where our sun is just a star in its sky) or even a trip to the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Planetarium shows are continuous without a starting or stopping point. You may join them when you arrive, stay as long as you wish, and leave when you are through. The Planetarium Lecturer will take requests and show you the items in the sky that you would like to see and take you places that you would like to go. Shows are very informal and very informative. There is no admission charge to attend the planetarium.

Planetarium Hours Friday Saturday Sunday 7:00-9:00 p.m. 1:00-9:00 p.m. 1:00-5:00 p.m.

The star projector which was used from 1964 to 2002 is the one-ton Zeiss planetarium projector. This giant mechanical-optical clockwork mechanism was built in West Germany in 1964, replacing the original 1935 Mark II star projector. It projected about 9,000 stars, the sun, moon, and naked-eye planets onto the 75-foot diameter plaster dome, showing the sky as seen at any time and place for several thousand years into the past or future.

This Zeiss Mark IV star projector was dismantled in October 2002 and will be displayed in the renovated Observatory as a historic relic. It will be replaced with a Zeiss Mark IX Universarium star projector when the Observatory reopens in late 2005.

Click here to view slide show of space photos.