Space museums and observatories may be the last thing on your mind now that quarantine guidelines are more relaxed, but believe it or not, these places are worth exploring.
If you haven't had the chance to visit these places pre-coronavirus, there's still a chance to roam around science museums, albeit online. A virtual experience may never replace the real thing, but at least, you get to see the beauty of these places; not everyone is lucky enough to experience.
Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory is located high in the mountains outside of San Diego, California. It houses what was once the largest telescope in the world -- the Hale Telescope.
A Palomar virtual tour will take visitors inside several domes, one of them being the Hale Dome, and the Mayer and Oschin domes. These domes are where two more of the observatory's telescopes are found.
NASA Glenn Research Center
Found in Ohio, the Glenn Research Center offers virtual tours that take visitors through testing facilities and numerous labs where spacecraft are built, like the Orion spacecraft. You can also see the propulsion systems lab, the Zero Gravity Facility, a ballistic lab, and two wind tunnels.
NASA Langley Research Center
The Langley Research Center in Virginia isn't actually as popular as the other NASA facilities that offer in-person tours, like JPL in California, Johnson in Texas, and Kennedy in Florida. But this doesn't make Langley any less interesting.
A virtual tour of Langley will take you to the facility's Flight Research Hangar, the subsonic wind tunnel, and learn about the Katherin G. Johnson Computational Research Facility, or Building 2103. Perhaps the best thing about the virtual tour is that you get to visit places where in-person visits aren't allowed.
Adler Planetarium
Found in Chicago, Illinois, the Adler Planetarium is a perfect spot for space junkies. A virtual tour of the place has been arranged by Google Arts & Culture, so those who live far from Chicago or holed up at home can experience the photo galleries and exhibits from a Google Street view. This means that you get to walk around the area and explore the nearly 100-year-old building and every artifact it houses.
Unfortunately, it's impossible to get inside the planetarium or explore the whole museum, but at least you get to walk through the Mission Moon exhibit and witness Odyssey, the Apollo 13 command module.
These are merely some of the space experiences being offered online. There are lots more, but start with these and try not to miss every detail of it. Enjoy!
