Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium |
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| Organization | French Camp Academy | ||||
| Location | French Camp, Mississippi, United States | ||||
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Coordinates
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33°17′14.1″N 89°23′06.5″W / 33.287250°N 89.385139°W
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The Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium is a special place in French Camp, Mississippi. It's where you can learn about astronomy and look at the stars! This observatory is part of French Camp Academy. It's the biggest observatory in Mississippi, with more than 16 telescopes.
Contents
Discovering Space at Rainwater Observatory
Rainwater Observatory has some amazing telescopes. The largest ones include a huge 32-inch Dobsonian telescope. There's also a 14-inch Celestron catadioptric telescope. Soon, they will get an even bigger 25-inch telescope called the Sollee Telescope. This new telescope will be great for serious space studies. The observatory is in a "dark spot" in Mississippi. This means there's very little light pollution, so you can see the stars super clearly!
What You Can See
With these powerful telescopes, you can explore many things in space. You can see galaxies, which are huge groups of stars. You can also see nebulae, which are giant clouds of gas and dust where stars are born. It's like having a front-row seat to the universe!
Exploring the Facilities
The observatory complex has several buildings. One main building has a 30-foot dome. Inside, a special projector shows you the stars and planets, just like a real night sky. This is called a planetarium. There's also a computer room for activities.
Next door, another building has a meeting room and space for exhibits. It even has dorm rooms and bathrooms for groups visiting the observatory. Up a hill, you'll find more buildings. These house all the different types of telescopes.
Outdoor Space Exhibits
As you walk between the activity buildings and the hilltop observatories, you'll find cool outdoor exhibits. There are markers that show how the ancient Stonehenge stones lined up with the sun's rise and set. You can also see many different sundials. There's even a walking trail that shows how far apart the planets are from the Sun. It's a fun way to learn about our Solar System.
Bringing Space to You
Rainwater Observatory also has a special van called the video astronomy van. This van has big screens that show what the telescope is looking at. It can also show presentations about space. This van travels to places within about 100 miles of French Camp. It helps bring the wonders of space closer to more people.
