The Santa Monica College John Drescher Planetarium will present special feature shows on Fridays: April 3, 24 and May 1, 2009. On April 3 and May 1 observers will say farewell to the north side of Saturn's rings.

On April 24, Dr. Robert Pappalardo of NASA - JPL will discuss why Jupiter's moon Europa may be a habitable world.

Special Observing Event on Fridays, April 3 and May 1: Saturn and The Moon will allow observers, through a variety of telescopes, to take a "farewell" look at the north side of Saturn's rings. Every 15 years, a "ring plane crossing" occurs where Saturn's rings appear edge-on as viewed from Earth. This crossing will occur later this year.

Saturn, like the Earth, has a tilted axis, so observers view an alternating sequence of the "north" and "south" side of the rings during Saturn's nearly 30-year orbit around the Sun. The observing event will come after a brief discussion unless clouds intervene, in which case the entire event will be indoors with some great images.

On Friday, April 24, guest speaker Dr. Robert Pappalardo of NASA - JPL will discuss why Jupiter's moon Europa may be a habitable world. Data from the Galileo spacecraft suggests that a salty ocean lurks beneath Europa's frozen ice surface, and that the moon's ocean and surface are inherently linked, affected, and shaped by tidally driven ice convections and partial melting, which could permit the ingredients necessary for life.

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.