Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tion. If the meridian was too crowded outside, you can straddle it when you walk around
this telescope. Upstairs from the gift shop, a skippable exhibit explores the role of time-
keeping in our society.
• Now head out back.
Walk past the giant rusted-copper cone top of the planetarium. The building beyond
houses the
Weller Astronomy Galleries,
where interactive, kid-pleasing displays allow
you to guide a space mission and touch a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite. You can also buy
tickets for and enter the state-of-the-art, 120-seat
Peter Harrison Planetarium
from here.
Before you leave the observatory grounds, enjoy the
view
from the overlook—the
symmetrical royal buildings, the Thames, and the Docklands and its busy cranes (in-
cluding the prominent Canary Wharf Tower, with its pyramid cap). You may be able to
see—poking up between buildings—the white stadium and red Orbit tower in Queen El-
izabeth Olympic Park. To the right is the huge O2 dome and the towers of the Emirates
Air Line gondola. To the left lies the square-mile City of London, with skyscrapers and the
dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. The Shard is to the far left. At night (17:00-24:00), look for
the green laser beam the observatory projects into the sky (best viewed in winter), which
extends along the prime meridian for 15 miles.
