Astronomy for this weekend & next

There is lots of good astro stuff going on this weekend & next in southern California.

Starting tomorrow night and running through next weekend Theater Arts at Caltech is presenting the Life of Galileo. Follow the link for more.

If you are itching to look through some telescopes Explore the Stars may be the thing for you. Telescopes will be set up for free viewing at the National Forest Service's Observatory Campground on Palomar Mountain Friday & Saturday night. Right around sunset on Saturday (~7:45 p.m.-ish) John Garret will give a talk on long term changes in Earth's orbit. Some of his cool graphics and info are already up on his Bright Stars Temecula blog.

Last, but not least the RTMC Astronomy Expo takes place Memorial Day Weekend at Camp Oakes in Big Bear. RTMC is a major gathering of amateur astronomers. There will be observing, talks, astroimaging workshops, food, prizes and a whole lot more. Last year it snowed, but this year warmer weather, clearer skies and less moonlight are all expected.
I will be there and giving a talk on Palomar bright & early Sunday, May 24 @ 9:00 a.m. The mobile version of the observatory's gift shop will also be there in case anyone needs a Palomar t-shirt or other souvenir. If you attend, be sure to stop by the Palomar booth to say hello.