THE QUEST
PRAGUE
When the Planets
AlignedAn astronomy geek explores an
era when the Czech capital was a
magnet for celestial scientists
By Alex SchechterNATGEOTRAVEL.COM
A
round 10 p.m. on a clear
night in early June, I’m
staring down the end of a
Zamboni-size reflector telescope.
I’m in the eastern dome of the
Štefánik Observatory, in the hills
above Prague’s Malá Strana neigh-
borhood. Unlike unruly Old Town,
things are quiet here. The obser-
vatory sits atop the Lobkowicz
Gardens, and to reach it, I took
a funicular. Exiting the station, I
had passed through a rosarium,
where bushes of pink, white, and
red blooms caught the last of the
evening light.
Overhead, the entire hemi-
sphere of the roof swivels. I can
hear the groan of cogs turning like
spokes on a giant bicycle wheel.
“Aha! Jupiter!” exclaims the Czech
woman who’s in charge, pointing