JPL Staffers Offer Astronomy Seminar

Lessons learned from last year’s collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter, along with information about Venus, Mars and Pluto, will be discussed in a one-day seminar offered by UCLA Extension on Feb. 11.

Four members of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s staff will give lectures, beginning with Steve Edberg, who will discuss the comet crash.

Ellen Stofan will talk about “Magellan and the Unveiling of Venus,” followed by Matt Golombek discussing “Mars Pathfinder: Exploring the Red Planet.”

The day will close with a talk by Robert Staehle, manager of JPL’s Pluto Pre-Project, on NASA’s plans for a “fast flyby mission to Pluto.”

The program will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (310) 825-7093.

ASTRONOMY

* “The Next 10 Billion Years,” a look at the end of our world, the death of our sun and beyond, will be the program at Santa Monica College on Friday and Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. in Room 111 of the Business Building. They follow the weekly Night Sky Show at 7 p.m. (310) 452-9396.

HEALTH/MEDICINE

* “Breath Games, 1995,” a medically supervised track and field event for asthmatic children ages 5 to 14, will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Cal State Long Beach. There will be 64 games, including an obstacle run, long jump, high jump and shot put. Parents and children also will learn about the health benefits of exercise for children with asthma. Co-sponsored by the American Lung Assn. of Long Beach. Call (310) 985-4558 or (800) LUNG-USA.

GEOLOGY

* John S. Shelton, geology consultant and former member of the Pomona College geology faculty, will give two lectures at the college this week. At 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, he will discuss “A Feel for How the Earth Works” in Room 108 of Seaver South. At 11 a.m. Thursday, Shelton will present “The Aerial Perspective” in Room 214 of Seaver South. (909) 621-8675.

ARCHEOLOGY

* William G. Dever, professor of Near Eastern archeology and anthropology at the University of Arizona and a leading authority on biblical archeology, will discuss “Popular Religion and the Culture of Asherah: The Mother Goddess in Ancient Israel” and the discoveries of recent controversial archeological data at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Founders Room of Honnold Library at the Claremont Colleges. (909) 621-8066.