TRAVEL TALES : WHERE IT'S OK TO BE STAR STRUCK.

Byline: Susanne Hopkins Daily News Travel Editor

When amateur astronomer Michael Selden visits Griffith Observatory, he doesn't see just stars.

``Griffith Observatory is a treasure for all citizens of Los Angeles which is much undervalued and under-appreciated,'' said the Chatsworth resident, who often visits the facility in Los Angeles' Griffith Park. ``It is attempting to open up astronomy to the general public.''

And, indeed, that is the goal of the 62-year-old institution. With its Hall of Science astronomy museum, planetarium shows and powerful telescopes, the observatory can open a whole new world to visitors.

About 1.7 million people take advantage of this outer-limits experience each year, said John Mosley, observatory program supervisor. That places it seventh on the list of Southern California's major tourist attractions, he said.

``We're close to downtown Los Angeles, and we're free - that's an advantage,'' said Mosley about the popularity of the facility, which occupies the southern slope of Mount Hollywood and boasts a spectacular view of the city below.

And just now, it's popular for the 12-inch, Zeiss refracting telescope, which allows visitors to study the Hale-Bopp comet between 7 and 9:45 nightly except Mondays, and the planetarium show, ``Comet Watch,'' which will be presented through May 4.

The telescope, which is on the observatory roof, thus offering an unobstructed view of the night sky, is in such demand these days that the wait to look through it, Mosley said, can run to two hours.

The planetarium show is an hourlong, multimedia production developed by observatory staff members, said Mosley.

``We learn about what comets are, what makes them so bright, we learn where it's (Hale-Bopp) going ... and the effects comets have had in bringing water to the Earth,'' he said.

And for would-be scientists, there's another little nugget of knowledge: Retired TV weather forecaster Dr. George Fischbeck demonstrates how to make a comet nucleus in your kitchen. The blend of dry ice, water, small amounts of ammonia, sand and a ground-up charcoal briquette approximates the nucleus of the real thing, Mosley said.

After ``Comet Watch,'' the planetarium's next stop, beginning May 7 and continuing through an indefinite period, is Mars. The show will tackle the idea of life on Mars, what the planet is like and efforts to explore it. Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin will explain his plans for getting to Mars.

Mosley said that while children under 5 are not admitted to the regular planetarium shows, there is something special at the observatory just for them. It's ``Voyage to the Planets,'' a 45-minute children's show that works as an introduction to the solar system.

``An extraterrestrial man takes us on a trip around the solar system,'' Mosley said. Led by the space alien named Critney, children learn why Mars is colder than Earth, why Jupiter has such stormy clouds and why Saturn has rings. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are also on the itinerary.

Such activities probably would have pleased the late Col. Griffith J. Griffith, who donated the land for Griffith Park and the Greek Theatre, and whose will called for the establishment of an astronomy museum, one fine enough to be called a ``Hall of Science.'' Griffith died in 1919, 16 years before the observatory was completed.

Owned by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, the facility reflects the grace of yesteryear. The building is in the sculpted Moderne style so popular in the 1930s and topped with three copper domes.

The central dome, the largest of the three, houses the planetarium theater. Its main rotunda is crowned with a ceiling of vivid, intricate murals of mythological characters by Hugo Ballin. Eight panels detail the story of science - great moments in astronomy, aeronautics, navigation, civil engineering, metallurgy and electricity, time, geology and biology, and mathematics and physics.

But before people look up, they see, in the main rotunda, the Foucault pendulum, a 240-pound brass ball that swings on a wire, demonstrating the rotation of the Earth. Started each morning by staff members, it gradually comes to a stop when the power goes off at night.

Under the east dome is the refracting telescope; under the west dome are the solar telescopes, which are trained toward the sun on clear days. The latter aren't accessible to the public, but their images are beamed down from the roof and can be viewed from the main-floor exhibit area.

Exhibits abound in the Hall of Science. There are 6-foot globes of the moon and Earth, a model of the Hubble space telescope, a collection of meteorites (and a rock from Mars) and spacecraft and telescope models. There is a Tesla coil, which crackles with electrical sparks, and an exhibit that explains pulsars. There's even a World War II periscope that bursts through the ceiling, projecting 22 feet above the roof, and astronomy computer games to play.

And more is to come. Plans are for the observatory to undergo a $10 million renovation that will transform the planetarium theater, adding new stars and special effects, and create an underground area that will include exhibit space, a restaurant and educational facilities. The facility also will be retrofitted to provide greater accessibility to the disabled.

That's about two years away, Mosley said. But sometime after the new millennium, it'll be a brave new world at the Griffith Observatory.

Casting your eye to the sky

The Griffith Observatory, 2800 E. Observatory Road, Los Angeles, is open 2 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 12:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closed Monday. Summer hours begin June 16; the observatory will then be open 12:30 to 10 p.m. daily. Admission is free.

Planetarium shows are offered at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 1:30, 3, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through June 15.

Summer show hours through Sept. 7 are 1:30, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 1:30, 3, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $4 general, $3 seniors 65 and older and $2 children 5-12.

Children under age 5 are only admitted to the children's show, ``Voyage to the Planets,'' presented at 1:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Admission is charged to some shows.

From 12:30 to 9:30 p.m. May 3-4, a full-scale model of the U.S. living quarters and laboratory on the International Space Station will be at the observatory. Admission is free.

The observatory also offers a sky report, a recorded phone message that relates the latest information on what's going on in the sky. Call [phone].

For observatory information, call [phone].

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Photo, Box

Photo: About 1.7 million people visit Griffith Observatory each year, making it seventh on the list of Southern California's major tourist attractions, said one observatory official.

John McCoy/Daily News

Box: Casting your eyes to the sky (See Text)