The Santa Monica College John Drescher Planetarium invites residents to a telescope-observing session and a feature show -- as well as their popular Night Sky Show -- on Friday evenings in February.
The evening events are at 8 p.m. and are preceded by "The Night Sky Show" at 7 p.m., offering the latest news in astronomy and space exploration, a family-friendly "tour" of the constellations, and the chance to ask astronomy-related questions.
The February events are:
o "Wakeup for New Horizons" on Feb. 6 and 20. NASA "awakened" its New Horizons spacecraft on Dec. 6, 2014, nine years and three billion miles after its launch. As New Horizons is preparing for its July 14 flyby of Pluto and its moons, come preview the scientific climax of this pioneering mission into the Kuiper Belt.
o Special Observing Event: "10-Day-Old Moon, Jupiter!" on Feb. 27. With guidance from the planetarium director, take a look through a variety of telescopes at the 10-day-old gibbous Moon and its prominent craters, along with the largest planet of our solar system -- mighty Jupiter -- and its four largest moons.
The John Drescher Planetarium, which features a Digistar projection system, is located near the elevators on the second floor of Drescher Hall (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). Tickets are available at the door and cost $11 ($9 seniors and children) for the evening's scheduled "double bill," or $6 ($5 seniors age 60+ and children age 12 and under) for a single Night Sky or feature show or telescope-viewing session.
For information, please call (310) 434-3005 or see www.smc.edu/eventsinfo or www.smc.edu/planetarium. All shows subject to change or cancellation without notice.
