Dr. Jeff Cuzzi, a scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., will give a talk Monday evening, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Morrison Planetarium's Dean Lecture Series. Cuzzi's topic will be "Saturn's Rings: Ongoing Studies by Cassini." The talk will be held at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, 3200 California Street (at Presidio Avenue), San Francisco.

Left: Artist's rendition of Cassini over Saturn's rings

The Cassini spacecraft, launched on Oct. 15, 1997, arrived at Saturn in July 2004, carrying a record 12 instruments. A joint endeavor of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, the Cassini mission is an intensive study of Saturn's rings, its moons and magnetosphere. In January 2005, the Huygens probe, which was aboard Cassini en route to Saturn, reached the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. By January 2007, the spacecraft will be at higher elevations above the ring plane than ever achieved before. New results will be put in the context of the big picture for understanding this fascinating system.

Further information about the lecture, parking, tickets, etc. is available at http://www.calacademy.org/planetarium/dean.php