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Kathleen Burton                         May 15, 2003
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: 650/604-1731 or 650/604-9000
E-mail: Kathleen.M.Burton{at}nasa.gov

RELEASE: 03-38AR

NOTE TO EDITORS AND NEWS DIRECTORS: Members of the news media and 
public are invited to attend the sixth talk in this year's 2002-2003 
Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series on Wednesday, May 21, at 7 
p.m. PDT at Foothill College's Smithwick Theater, Los Altos Hills, 
Calif. Directions and further information are available below and by 
calling the series hotline at 650/949-7888.

POPULAR AUTHOR TO DISCUSS AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS' CONTRIBUTIONS

Award-winning writer, filmmaker and PBS commentator Timothy Ferris 
will discuss amateur astronomers' discovery of new and exploding 
stars and their search for ancient asteroids that might be on a 
collision course with Earth.

Ferris will be the featured speaker at a free public lecture at 
Foothill College on Wednesday, May 21 at 7 p.m. PDT. His talk is 
entitled "Seeing in the Dark: How Backyard Astronomers are Probing 
Deep Space and Guarding Earth from Interplanetary Peril." New 
technologies within the reach of even modest budgets have transformed 
the hobby of astronomy in recent years. It is a topic chronicled by 
Ferris in New Yorker magazine articles and in his widely praised new 
book "Seeing in the Dark." Ferris will sign copies of the book after 
the lecture.

"NASA Ames is proud to co-sponsor the Silicon Valley Astronomy 
Lecture Series, which exemplifies excellence in science outreach," 
said NASA Ames Research Center Director G. Scott Hubbard. "This 
series is just one element of our efforts to inspire the next 
generation of engineers and space explorers."

A night sky observing 'star party,' open to the general public, will 
be held at the Foothill College Observatory following Ferris' talk. 
The event will feature a variety of telescopes, with guidance 
provided by the Peninsula Astronomical Society.  Since the moon will 
be more than three-quarters full, the likely sky objects for viewing 
will be Jupiter and Saturn, plus distant deep sky objects such as 
double stars, star clusters and galaxies. Amateur astronomers are 
invited to set up their own telescopes. Guests are advised to bring a 
jacket or sweater, if they plan to stay for the star party after the 
lecture.

This is the fourth year of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture 
Series, which is co-sponsored by NASA Ames, Foothill College's 
Division of Physical Science, Mathematics and Engineering, the 
Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the SETI Institute.

The lecture series is held at Foothill College's Smithwick Theater in 
Los Altos Hills. From Interstate 280, exit at El Monte Road and 
travel west to the campus. Visitors must purchase a one-day campus 
parking permit for $2. Seating is on a first-come, first-served 
basis. Young people over the age of 13 are welcome. More information 
is available by calling the series hotline at 650/949-7888.

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