Astronaut Memorial Planetarium and Observatory

The Astronaut Memorial Planetarium and Observatory, or AMPO, also known as the Eastern Florida State College Planetarium and Observatory, is an astronomical observatory and planetarium at Eastern Florida State College in Cocoa, Florida. The facility consists of a planetarium, public observatory, large-screen movie theater, exhibit halls, multi-media classroom and an art gallery.Planetarium and observatoryThe 210-seat planetarium theater is a 70-foot overhead hemisphere onto which images from a variety of projectors are shone, to simulate the night sky and to provide multimedia educational and entertainment programs to area schools and to the public. On the rooftop public observatory, visitors can view planets, stars, galaxies and other objects directly through a 24in Ritchey–Chrétien telescope operated by observatory staff and members of the Brevard Astronomical Society.Other facilitiesThe observatory is also home to The Discovery Theater, Science Quest Exhibit Hall, and the International Hall of Space Explorers. The Discovery Theater uses a 70 mm Iwerks movie projector to shown are science and nature films. It also has an art gallery which images of space are shown, such as Messier 101.