ESCONDIDO -- The public can get a look at the cosmos through the lens of a telescope Saturday during a free star party at the San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park east of Escondido.

The star party, which is co-sponsored by the San Dieguito River Park Authority and Oceanside Photo and Telescope, will begin at 4:30 p.m. with an orientation in the astronomy lab at the park. This short introduction to visual astronomy also will cover star party etiquette.

Observing will begin afterward at about 5 p.m. on the lower soccer field east of the astronomy lab. Highlights for the evening will include Saturn, which rises just as the star party is getting underway, as well as Venus, Mercury, the Great Orion Nebula, the Pleiades star cluster and the Andromeda galaxy.

The battlefield park is located at 16666 San Pasqual Valley Road, and parking is available. Visitors with telescope equipment may drive up to the observing field anytime after 3:30 p.m.

For recorded information on monthly star parties, call (760) 737-2698, or visit www.aquatest.org for links to directions, a calendar and more.