Location: Palomar Community College in San Marcos, CA

Date: Saturday, July 11th 2009

Times: Mars Movie & Presentation @ 5pm & 7pm, Star Party from dusk till 11pm

OPT is pleased to announce the SCAE 2009 Star Party! This event is free and open to the public, and boy, do we have a fun evening planned! Join us in the P-32 lecture hall, located on the San Marcos campus at Palomar College, for a real treat...a three-dimensional treat!

SimShu Productions is flying in from Montreal, Canada to show us their new film, "Journeys on Mars 3-D!" Follow the adventures of twin rovers, Spirit & Opportunity, as they explore the Red Planet in panoramic HD-3D, and keep a pair of specially-made 3D glasses to commemorate the event! Remember, there is no charge for this media presentation, but we suggest you arrive early for the showing of your choice (5pm or 7pm) as seats are limited.

I am willing to bet that you'll have a lot of questions about the Mars rovers, and even the Red Planet itself, after you finish watching Journeys on Mars 3D...I know I did, so here's the deal: Stay in your seats after the credits roll, because I have an expert that will be able to answer them for you!

Scott G. Lever is currently a Mission Manager on the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) project. He joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1984 as a member of the Voyager project team working with the Computer Command Subsystem group. Since Voyager and before MER, he has worked on other projects including Mars Observer, Topex/Poseidon, Cassini/Huygens, and Spitzer. Scott usually works with ground software development and maintenance (command sequence simulation and flight rules) or with flight operations. Scott received a presidential appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 1979 and holds a MSCS from Azusa Pacific University.

After the last talk has finished (about 8:30PM), we will have a variety of telescopes set up on campus to gaze at the Moon, the planets, and some brighter deep sky objects. Representatives from OPT as well as companies like Celestron, Vixen, Tele Vue and Explore Scientific will be there to show you the wonders of the universe through their newest telescopes! Remember, this is a free event, so mark your calendars! Observing will begin at dusk and continue until 11pm (weather permitting, of course), although you are welcome to come and go as you please. Bathroom facilities are plentiful, and there is plenty of free parking available, so come on down to Palomar College on the 11th of July and see what's up!

If it is cloudy (or, God forbid, raining) that evening, remember that the media presentation is indoors and will take place as usual...only the star party afterwards would be affected by the weather.

Oceanside Photo & Telescope would like to thank Mark Lane and Palomar College for helping to host this star party event!

From I-15, take Hwy 78 to the Las Posas Road exit in San Marcos. Go right on Las Posas Road where it intersects with Mission Road. Turn right; go east one-half mile on Mission Road. Palomar College is on your left. Instead of turning left into the main entrance, take the next left, which is Comet Circle. You will see parking lots on your left as you drive up the road. Free parking for SCAE 2009 will be in Lot #5. Once you have parked, follow the signs to the Lecture Hall (P-32) and/or the star party. Everything is very close to each other, so walking is minimal. You may park in other lots on campus if Lot #5 is full, but you may not see signs pointing to the event from all of these lots. Use the map, shown below, to find your way to P-32 and/or Lot #11. While security will be on hand to make sure you don't park in "No Parking" areas, you may park on campus without a permit from 4pm until midnight.

I-5, take Hwy 78 to the Las Posas Road exit in San Marcos. Turn right onto Grand Ave. Go right on Las Posas Road where it intersects with Mission Road. Turn right; go east one-half mile on Mission Road. Palomar is on your left. Instead of turning left into the main entrance, take the next left, which is Comet Circle. You will see parking lots on your left as you drive up the road. Free parking for SCAE 2009 will be in Lot #5. Once you have parked, follow the signs to the Lecture Hall (P-32) and/or the star party. Everything is very close to each other, so walking is minimal. You may park in other lots on campus if Lot #5 is full, but you may not see signs pointing to the event from all of these lots. Use the map, shown below, to find your way to P-32 and/or Lot #11. While security will be on hand to make sure you don't park in "No Parking" areas, you may park on campus without a permit from 4pm until midnight.