KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Taylor Observatory will host a “Vesta Fiesta” to celebrate the beginning of the NASA Dawn mission’s year-long visit to the protoplanet Vesta on Friday, Aug. 5.

The celebration will take place from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The Dawn spacecraft left Earth on Sept. 27, 2007, and has finally reached its first destination, Vesta.

Dawn is the second NASA mission to be powered by an advanced NASA technology known as ion propulsion and is the first NASA mission to orbit two solar system objects.

Using data from Dawn’s year-long visit at Vesta, scientists will seek to understand some of the most fundamental questions in planetary science: how did planets form? What were the starting materials that formed our solar system? What is the origin of meteorites that fall on Earth? The Dawn Spacecraft will send back new and exciting data that give us a snapshot of the early solar system and answers to these questions and more.

Vesta Fiesta celebrates the beginning of Dawn’s exploration of this “new world” and includes presentations by Dawn team members discussing the mission and some of the latest data.

Join our local Vesta Fiesta featuring a fun-filled educational experience of mission information, planetarium show, night sky observing and more. Donations are gratefully accepted.

The Taylor Observatory-Norton Planetarium is located at 5725 Oak Hills Lane in Kelseyville.