From the outside, a planetarium and an observatory might look a somewhat similar, but it's what's inside that counts.

The ELT could identify biosignatures on planets in our solar system as well as orbiting Proxima Centauri within hours.

The Equatorial Group is a group of six telescope domes, making up the primary observatory site. Whereas most telescope domes use a grey or white color, the Equatorial Group telescopes were built ...

The dome will be used to protect the telescope's mirrors and instruments when not in use and during bad weather (something that rarely comes along up there). All of the above may sound impressive ...

Clouds drift closer from the north with a threat of rain. On the mountaintop are ten telescope domes, and I walk up a steep driveway to the biggest one. There's an eerie sound, like a loose ...

The Equatorial Group is a group of six telescope domes, making up the primary observatory site. Whereas most telescope domes use a grey or white color, the Equatorial Group telescopes were built ...

A key difference is that observatories are equipped with telescopes and have the ability to open and close their domes to view the sky. A facility like Montgomery's planetarium isn't equipped for ...

Rainbow over Herstmonceux in 1981. The observatory dome in the picture used to house Isaac Newton telescope, which is now situated at La Palma in the Canary Islands. | Credit: Barry Shimmon ...