PLANETARIUMS AND OBSERVATORIES

ARLINGTON PLANETARIUM -- 1426 N. Quincy St., Arlington. 703-228-6070. www.arlington.k12.va.us/curr_inst/planetarium. "The Cowboy Planetarium," a planetarium program narrated by humorist Baxter Black, runs Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 and Sundays at 1:30 and 3 through March 30. "The Stars Tonight," a lecture on the current night sky by planetarium director Jonathan Harmon, is given on the first Monday of each month at 7:30. $2.50, $1.50 for seniors and children under 12.

WILLIAM M. BRISH PLANETARIUM -- 820 Commonwealth Ave., Hagerstown, Md. 301-766-2898. www.wcboe.k12.md.us/mainfold/curric/planetarium/index.html. The planetarium hosts public programs at 7 each Tuesday evening when schools are in session and Thursdays in December. The current show, "Worlds in Motion," runs through March 18. $2, $1 for students, seniors and children under 12.

DAVIS PLANETARIUM -- Maryland Science Center, 601 Light St., Baltimore. 410-685-5225. www.mdsci.org/shows/davis/index.cfm. "The Sky Above Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," an introduction to the sky featuring characters from the children's show, runs daily at 1. "Star Bazaar," a program exploring different types of stars, runs Monday-Friday at 4, Saturday at 1:45, 2:30, 4 and 5 and Sunday at 1:45, 2:30 and 4. "The Sky: Live!," a live presentation about the current night sky, is presented daily at 3:15. Admission to the Science Center is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, $8 for children 3-12, free for children under 3. There is no additional charge to attend planetarium shows.

EINSTEIN PLANETARIUM -- National Air and Space Museum, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. 202-357-1686 or 357-2000. www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/planetarium/Einstein.html. "The Stars Tonight," a discussion of the current night sky with a planetarium staffer, is presented daily at noon. $5. "Infinity Express," a voyage through the solar system narrated by Laurence Fishburne, shows daily on the half-hour (noon excepted) from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. $7.50, children and seniors $6. The planetarium presents monthly star lectures followed by telescopic observing; this month's presentation, "What Is the Zodiac?" with staff astronomer Sean O'Brien, is Feb. 22 at 6. No tickets required. The museum also hosts astronomy fairs in April and October.

MARYLAND SPACE GRANT OBSERVATORY -- Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy, fifth floor, Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore. 410-516-6525. www.mdspacegrant.org/observatory.html. Observatory open house every Friday evening at dusk, weather permitting. Free.

MONTGOMERY COLLEGE PLANETARIUM -- 7651 Fenton St., Takoma Park. 301-650-1463. www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/planet. The planetarium is open from the last week in August until the Friday before Memorial Day. Harold Williams presents monthly planetarium programs at 7, usually but not always on Saturday. Upcoming topics are "The Rites of Spring, the Vernal Equinox" on March 19, "Black Holes, Gravity to the Max" on April 19 and "The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" on May 10. Free.

HOWARD B. OWENS SCIENCE CENTER -- 9601 Greenbelt Rd., Lanham. 301-918-8750. www.pgcps.pg.k12.md.us/~hbowens. Public programs are held at 7:30 on the second Friday of the month when Prince George's County Public Schools are in session. (Except the May program, which will be held on the third Friday.) The planetarium's Astronomy Day is scheduled for May 10 from 6 to 10. $4, $2 for students, seniors and children under 12.

CROSBY RAMSEY MEMORIAL OBSERVATORY -- Maryland Science Center, 601 Light St., Baltimore. 410-545-2999. www.mdsci.org/exhibits/observatory/index.cfm. The observatory hosts "Sungazing Sundays" every Sunday from 1 to 4 and "Stargazing Thursdays" every Thursday from 5:30 to 10, weather permitting. Science center admission includes "Sungazing Sundays"; admission to "Stargazing Thursdays" is free.

ROCK CREEK NATURE CENTER -- 5200 Glover Rd. NW. 202-895-6070. www.nps.gov/rocr/planetarium. "The Night Sky," a program for children 4 and older, is Saturday and Sunday at 1. "Night Sky to Freedom," a program for children 7 and older that explores how the Underground Railroad taught enslaved people to use the night sky as a compass, is Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday at 4. "Exploring the Sky" stargazing sessions in conjunction with National Capital Astronomers are held monthly from April through November; the sessions are held in Rock Creek Park near the Nature Center planetarium, in the field just south of the intersection of Military and Glover roads NW. The 2003 schedule will be posted soon on the planetarium Web site. Free tickets are available at the Nature Center a half-hour before showtime.

UNITED STATES NAVAL OBSERVATORY -- Massachusetts Avenue at 34th Street NW. 202-762-1438. www.usno.navy.mil. Tours of the observatory are offered on alternate Mondays at 8:30 and include a presentation on the observatory's history and timekeeping responsibilities as well as a chance to use the facility's 12-inch telescope with a staff astronomer. Tour passes must be reserved 4-6 weeks in advance by using an online request form or calling the number above. Free.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND OBSERVATORY -- Metzerott Road, between Adelphi Road and University Boulevard, College Park. 301-405-6555. www.astro.umd.edu/openhouse. The Astronomy Department holds a free open house on the 5th and 20th of each month (at 8 during winter and early spring) including a lecture, slide show and telescopic viewing. Upcoming programs include "The Spring Sky" with Elizabeth Warner on March 5, and "What Are Stars Made Up of and What Does That Tell Us?" with Suchitra Balachandran on March 20. The observatory may offer a class for amateur astronomers in summer 2003; details will be posted on its Web site.

MORE RESOURCES

GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER VISITOR CENTER -- Soil Conservation Road, Building 88, Greenbelt. 301-286-9041. www.gsfc.nasa.gov/vc/vc.htm. The Visitor Center is currently open by appointment only. Call Monday though Friday between 9 and 4 to speak with a representative.

INTERNET -- The Web is a great source of information and sky maps. (Word to the wise: You're supposed to hold them over your head, not out in front like road maps.) The magazines Astronomy and Sky & Telescope have sites that include how-to advice for beginners (astronomy.com and skypub.com, respectively). And at sites like heavens-above.com you can download star charts customized by date and location -- even if that location is Burkina Faso, Somalia, Kazakhstan or Oman.

NATIONAL CAPITAL ASTRONOMERS -- www.capitalastronomers.org. The club sponsors monthly "Exploring the Sky" sessions from April to November near the Rock Creek Nature Center (see listing above), as well as a free telescope-making class, which meets on Fridays at the Chevy Chase Community Center, 5601 Connecticut Ave. NW, from 6:30 to 9:30. Monthly meetings, which feature guest speakers, are at 3 on the first Saturday of each month (except in July and August) at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, Second Floor, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda. Club members volunteer individually at the National Air and Space Museum and with other groups in the area.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA ASTRONOMY CLUB -- www.novac.com. In addition to tailored outreach sessions for groups, the club hosts astronomy events in the spring and fall and sponsors several public observing sessions each year at Crockett Park near Midland, Va., 15 miles south of Manassas. NOVAC also welcomes the public to its monthly meetings at 7 on the second Sunday of each month at Enterprise Hall, Room 80, on George Mason University's Fairfax campus.

SKYWATCH -- Columnist Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.'s monthly celestial forecast and calendar of astronomical events appears on The Washington Post Metro section's weather page as close to the first of the month as possible.

SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE -- Steven Muller Building, Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore. 410-338-4700. www.stsci.edu/resources. The institute, which analyzes data from the Hubble Space Telescope, sponsors free public lectures by noted scientists the first Tuesday of each month at 8 in the STScI auditorium.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE COUNTY -- Physics Building, Seminar Room 401, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore. 410-455-2513. www.jca.umbc.edu/OpenHouse.html. The public can look through the largest public telescope in Maryland at an open house on the first Thursday of every month from 6 to 9; members of the university's Joint Center for Astrophysics will be on hand to answer questions. Free.