Monday 1 October 2012

The Outing - Carter Observatory

I have a confession to make... I am kind of a space geek. I mean, the universe just blows my mind. I love watching films about space and other planets, and how these make me feel so insignificant. Astronomy helps me to appreciate just how powerful and mighty God is, and it's amazing that this incredible Creator made me and loves me...

So the other weekend - well actually, more like a month ago (where does the time go?) - Luke and I went to check out Wellington's Carter Observatory, which is located in the Botanical Gardens.

The really ironic part was that we booked tickets earlier in the week to see their latest documentary, Wildest Weather in the Solar System, on Saturday night. As it happened, that Saturday night we had some crazy winds. And when I say crazy, I mean I almost had to hold Luke down so he didn't blow away. Most people stayed inside and tried not to venture out, but we went to the Botanical Gardens (probably the windiest place in the city, due to being on a hill) and watched this documentary. However, I was personally convinced that the wildrest weather in the solar system at that moment would be in Wellington, New Zealand, Earth. It was still great fun though, and the observatory was pretty deserted due to the weather. Unfortunately it was extremely cloudy, so we couldn't use the telescope, but I'd love to go back!

On the cable car to the Observatory. Note: cable car in Wellington = tram going up hill pulled by cable. This was a major disappointment to me when I first moved to Wellington, as I thought Luke took a gondola to university, and that would be just cool!


At what age are you too old for the kids' section? Never!

This telescope was made in England and dates from the 1860s. 

Here's some clips  from the show:

Dust Demons as high as Mount Everest - this is why Mars would not be a nice alternative to Earth. 



Did you know that the Great Red Spot on Jupiter is a storm that has been raging ever since we first discovered it - a couple of hundred years ago. And it's the size of three Earths. Did I just blow your mind? I hope so.

Until next time :)


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