[AANC Contacts] Oct. 23 Star Party at Foothill College for Galilean Nights

[Andrew Fraknoi]

October 23rd Evening Star Party at Foothill College:
Free and Open to the Public
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	On Friday evening, October 23rd, between
8 and 11 pm, Foothill College and the Peninsula
Astronomical Society will hold a "star party" with
telescopes at the Foothill College Observatory in
Los Altos Hills, provided the sky is clear.  The
Observatory's 16-inch telescope will be open for viewing
and members of the Society will bring their own large
telescopes as well.

	(If you have a telescope and would like to set
it up near the observatory to help the public, you are
most cordially invited.)

	The event is part of the "Galilean Nights"
celebration, being held around the world Oct. 22 - 24,
as part of the commemoration of the International
Year of Astronomy -- the 400th anniversary of
Galileo's first turning telescope to the heavens.
Among the objects we will be able to see in the
telescopes Oct. 23rd is the giant planet Jupiter,
whose moons Galileo discovered -- thus demonstrating
that not everything had to go around the Earth, as
many people believed.

	The Foothill event is free, but parking on campus
costs $2.00.  Foothill College is located just off Freeway
280, going west on the El Monte Road exit.  Los Altos
Hills is between Palo Alto and Mountain View.  The
Foothill Observatory is near Parking Lot 4 on campus.
For a map, see:
http://www.foothill.edu/news/maps.html

	The Foothill College Observatory is operated
by the Peninsula Astronomical Society, one of the most
active amateur astronomy clubs in the Bay Area.  For more
on the astronomy program at the college and the activities
of the society, see:
http://www.foothill.edu/ast

Hints for Participants:

1. Dress warm and bring a small flashlight (one per family)
2. Parking Lot 4 is closest to the observatory, but may
	fill up quickly
3. You can park in lot 3 and walk forward (keeping to the
	sidewalk) to the observatory
4. Or you may park in lot 5, and walk back to the observatory
5. Children should be especially careful of the traffic on the
	one-way ring road that surrounds the campus
6. Be prepared for a short wait if there are crowds

For more on the U.S. celebration of the International Year
of Astronomy, see: http://www.astronomy2009.us