With NASA’s announced plans for a return to the moon — and the establishment of a lunar base in the coming two decades — Santa Monica College’s John Drescher Planetarium is turning an eye to mankind’s past and future lunar exploration missions.
In January, the planetarium’s feature show will be “Returning to the Moon: Part I,” which will take a look at the first era of lunar exploration, including robotic missions, Apollo landings and the learning experiences they provided. • “Returning to the Moon: Part I” is scheduled for Jan. 5, 12 and 19. A special program, “Eyeballs on the Moon!,” which will focus on what can be learned about our lunar neighbor from a backyard telescope, will be offered on the last Friday of January and February. If weather permits, telescope lunar viewing will be offered. • “Eyeballs on the Moon!” is scheduled for Jan. 26 and Feb. 23. The feature show and special program are at 8 p.m. Each is preceded by “The Night Sky Show” — which re-creates the night sky and provides the latest information on space exploration — at 7 p.m.
The astronomy shows are held in the John Drescher Planetarium, which features the state-of-the-art Digistar projection system. It is located on the second floor of Drescher Hall, 1900 Pico Blvd.
Tickets are $5 each or $9 for the “double bill,” with discounts for children and senior citizens. For information, call (310) 434-4223 or (310) 434-3000.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 23, 2006. Read the original PDF.