The Santa Monica College John Drescher Planetarium will present two special feature shows in March.

Charles Messier & the Faint Fuzzies, on Friday, March 13 and 20, will take a close look at French 18th-century comet hunter Messier who would have been an obscure figure in modern astronomy had he not compiled a list of things he was not looking for in his telescopes. His nuisance list of fuzzy, nonmoving, comet like objects became his chief historical claim to fame: a remarkable list of the brightest galaxies, star clusters and nebulae in the northern sky.

Human Spaceflight Update, on Friday, March 27, will address anticipated huge changes in store for U.S.-crewed spaceflight. Examined will be plans for the next generation of launch vehicle and spacecraft, private companies that are expanding their efforts to develop crewed spacecraft and supply vehicles for space stations, technological advances and more.

The feature shows are at 8 p.m., and are preceded by "The Night Sky Show" at 7 p.m., which re-creates the night sky and provides the latest information on space exploration.

The John Drescher Planetarium, which features the Digistar projection system, is located on the second floor of Drescher Hall, 1900 Pico Blvd.

Tickets are $5 each or $9 for the "double bill," with discounts for children and senior citizens. For information, call (310) 434-4223 or (310) 434-3000.