KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Taylor Observatory will begin its 2020 “Window to the Universe” lecture series with a compelling story of NASA’s exciting new Lunar program: Artemis.

The program will take place beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at the observatory, located at 5725 Oak Hills Lane, Kelseyville.

Solar expert Eduardo Alatorre, Friends of Taylor Observatory Board member and Taylor Observatory docent, will present a talk titled, “Artemis: We are Going Back to the Moon!”

The lecture will be followed by a planetarium show and, if conditions are clear, observations through the Taylor telescopes.

The cost is $5 for adults, with local students in grades kindergarten through 12th admitted for free. Taylor Observatory members also admitted with no charge.

In 2017, with a new administration, NASA began to change the objectives for its human exploration program. Last year this new program received the name Artemis, after the sister of Apollo.

The Artemis program will use the Space Launch System, the Orion module and other technologies developed from the Constellation and Orion programs. The goal is to send humans to the moon by 2024.

Come and learn about the exciting new journey that NASA will be attempting in this new decade including the first moon-walk by a female astronaut.

Alatorre began to work at Taylor Observatory as a student assistant with Barbara McIntyre while a junior at Kelseyville High School, pursuing his love of astronomy from a much younger age.

Since high school graduation, he has continued his education as a math major at Mendocino College, hoping to graduate this year and begin studies at UC Davis. For several years he has served as a board member of Friends of Taylor Observatory.

Alatorre is a recognized expert on all aspects of our solar system and has lectured widely in Northern California, including invited talks before the Sonoma County Astronomical Society and at the Latitude Observatory in Ukiah.

He is a docent for the Lake County Office of Education and teaches science at Taylor Observatory and elsewhere in that capacity. He has led several successful robotics programs at Taylor and lectures frequently at the Lakeport Library.

Additional "Windows to the Universe" lectures are on the schedule. Mark these dates in your calendars for upcoming events at Taylor Observatory; all programs are on Saturday night at Taylor except as noted:

– Feb. 22: Dr. Mark Marley, Ames Research Center, astrobiology/exoplanet research, https://www.nasa.gov/content/mark-marley.

– March 28: High School student presentation, “Dark Matter,” Mackenzie Markham, Clear Lake High School.

– April 18: Dr. Margaret Race, SETI , Planet Protection Institute, https://solarsystem1.jpl.nasa.gov/ssa/biography.cfm?US_ID=571.

– May, June and July: To be announced.

– Aug. 11: Wednesday (tentative) Perseids meteor shower at Clear Lake State Park.

– Oct. 17: Dr. David Velasquez, to be announced.

In addition, they expect to have a speaker from the California Academy of Sciences, Mary Holt. Holt has a degree in astrophysics from the University of Michigan. She is the senior planetarium presenter at Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco.

For more information about the Taylor Observatory or Friends of Taylor Observatory, visit www.friendsoftaylor.org, see the group’s Facebook page or call 707-262-4121.