* Astronomy

With longer nights and clearer skies, winter is the time to read and watch stars. Most people think astronomers predict weather, compose horoscopes or count stars. In truth, they study life of the universe through the interaction of planets, stars and other solar objects. You can rub shoulders with them or wish upon a star in the Kyiv Astronomical Observatory or in the Kyiv Planetarium.
Despite a fairly central location, the observatory seems easier to find from air than by foot. At the corner of Observatorna and Vorovskoho streets, look for a desolate construction site, and turn right. In the company of dull house blocks, the astronomers' hideout looks like a fairy kingdom from folk tales when the trees were tall and the men were small.
Famous Kyiv architects, father and son Vikenktiy and Oleksandr Beretti, built the observatory in 1845. It nestles a few dome-shaped buildings with telescopes, a museum, an institute and astronomers' quarters - all looking ancient and fantastic.

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