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Vistancia Annual Astronomy Night May 14, 2010 7:30PM-10:00PM
Date Published: May 14, 2010

VISTANCIA TO HOLD STAR-STUDDED EVENING AT
ANNUAL ASTRONOMY NIGHT

Spend an evening with the stars at Vistancia's annual Astronomy Night from 7:30 to 10 p.m. May 14 in Peoria. The event is free and open to the public. Guests can meet at 7:05 p.m. at Sunset Park located across the street from Vistancia's Mountain Vista Club.

From there, guests will be led on a guided walk on the Discovery Trail to Vistancia's Solar Garden where local astronomer, Tony LaConte will begin the evening with a 30-minute presentation on the constellations, Native American folklore and Greek mythology.

The solar garden is the only residential facility of its kind in the state. Positioned along a spiral walking path, it contains scaled models of each planet hanging from educational panels and imprinted with information about each planet. At the heart of the garden, a concrete sun, 12 feet in diameter, takes center stage in an amphitheater designed for educational presentations.

A walk back to Sunset Park at 8 p.m. will allow guests to view the wonders of the night sky through state-of-the-art telescopes pointed at various planets, exploded stars, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies millions of light-years away.

"There won't be a moon in the sky that evening, so we'll do a lot of star and constellation identification," said LaConte. "We will also be able to view Venus, Mars and Saturn." Guests are encouraged to bring binoculars and digital cameras for additional viewing.

Vistancia is located northwest of Lake Pleasant Parkway and Happy Valley Road.

For questions about the event, contact Vistancia Lifestyle Director, Monica Hollins at 623-215-8646 or visit www.vistancia.com.