Placerita Canyon Nature Center will be hosting, “Exploring the Night Sky,’ Sunday, Nov. 18 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. for those interested in joining an astronomy club.

There’s a lot to see in the night sky if you can get away from the city lights. At a dark sky site, just looking at the stars can be enjoyable. There are online sources for sky maps keyed to the time of year to guide your nighttime viewing. No telescope is required to begin to find your way among the stars and planets. Adding a pair of binoculars can get you an enlarged view of many stellar objects. Joining an astronomy club can broaden your resources for learning the night sky and give you an opportunity to try out a range of telescope options before committing to an expensive purchase.

Van Webster is a member of the Local Group Astronomy Club of the Santa Clarita Valley, The Los Angeles Astronomical Society and the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit Club. Van is a tour docent and telescope session director at the historic Mt. Wilson Observatory located above Pasadena. He has brought his homemade 13” reflecting telescope to more than 200 public outreach astronomy events.

It is free and will be great fun for the entire family.

The Placerita Nature Center is located at 19152 Placerita Canyon Rd, Santa Clarita, 91321.