Giant Telescope Lets You See Moon, Jupiter And Venus

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) --- Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum is the home of a giant telescope starting Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009.

As weather permits, the public can see objects in our Solar System including the moon, sun, Venus and Jupiter.

CLICK HERE to see an image of the telescope.

Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Observatory, a 22-foot structure, is on loan from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Massachusetts. The telescope was previously used for research at Harvard University.

This year is the 400th anniversary since the famous astronomer, Galileo, first pointed his telescope up into the sky, says Brian Mullen of the museum. Mullen adds, the telescope will be on loan for at least one year.

2009 is also the International Year of Astronomy. To celebrate the year, Mullen says the mission is to get the public to look into a telescope.