This is a reminder that the Yucca Valley Starry Nights Festival is this weekend at the High Desert Museum in Yucca Valley. It's a really nice free astronomy event. Unfortunately, I'll have to miss the event this year. I'll be at the International Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN over the weekend (I have to go there for work! :-) ), but if I were in town this weekend, I'd definitely be at the Starry Nights Festival, in fact I'd be one of the speakers this year. I hope they'll ask me to speak next year. If you picked only one day/night, I'd pick Saturday so you could hear David Levy give a talk at 5:30 p.m. It's about a 2 hour 110 mile drive to Yucca Valley from Monrovia. There are several reasonable priced motels in Yucca Valley, and the Joshua Tree National Park is right there too, for a nice drive or hike on your way home Sunday. Remember this is a free event thanks to the local astronomy club, the Andromeda Society and the wonderful Hi-Desert Nature Museum Dates: October 3-4, 2008 Friday 6 p.m. talk, 7:30 -10 observing, Saturday 1:30 - 6:00 p.m. talks, reception 6:30, observing 7:30 - 10 p.m. Place: Hi-Desert Nature Museum, 57116 Twentynine Palms Highway, Town of Yucca Valley, Yucca Valley, CA, 92284 (760) 369-7212 Evening Stargazing (shuttle busses for attendees, astronomer can drive themselves) Place: Machris Park, Santa Barbara Drive, Yucca Valley, California http://www.hidesertnaturemuseum.org/pdf/StarryNights.pdf -- Jane Houston Jones Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205 Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435 jane.h.jones@jpl.nasa.gov Cassini SOC http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm What's Up? http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html