SHOW AT T.O. LIBRARY IS OUT OF THIS WORLD.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

Stargazers got an eyeful at the Thousand Oaks Library on Saturday when Mutual UFO Network member Robert Moheit gave tours of the winter night sky.

``Today I'm showing people what's up with the night sky,'' said Moheit, before crawling into his room-size portable planetarium. ``Mercury is low in the sky right now, and on a clear night, you can also see Mars, Neptune and Uranus.''

In the Conejo Valley, sky watchers should look southwest toward the horizon, and find their place by spotting Venus, which will be the brightest object in the area, Moheit said.

``Venus is the object most often mistaken for a UFO, and you can tell it's a planet because it doesn't twinkle as much as a star. Planets have a steadier light.''

Moheit and other MUFON members hosted a daylong event at the library, including refreshments, MUFON T-shirt sales, planetarium shows, speakers and video screenings.

``We want to share with people my love of the night sky, and show them how fun it is to be familiar with the stars,'' Moheit said. ``I also want to help prepare people for the knowledge that we are not alone, though even the government has began to desensitize us to the idea.''

During his planetarium show Moheit also introduced his viewers to more conventional stargazing insights.

``I show people how to find the North Star by following the handle of the Dippers, because contrary to popular belief, it is not the brightest star in the sky,'' he said. ``I also show people how stars rise in the East and set in the West, unless you're at the North or South Pole.''

And Moheit and his colleagues also work hard to explain that his group, which boasts some 10,000 members nationwide and 450 members in Ventura County, is not a cult.

``This isn't any of that Heaven's Gate stuff. All sorts of people belong to MUFON: scientists, engineers, teachers,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color--ran in Conejo Edition only) Robert Moheit's star projector enables him to display about 3,000 stars and planets.

(2--3--Color--ran in Conejo Edition only) David Anderson of the Mutual UFO Network opens the door for a family leaving a celestial show inside a portable inflatable planetarium set up at the Thousand Oaks Library on Saturday. At left, a picture of extraterrestrial beings is set up behind a fund-raising table staffed by Mary Helen Corrado of MUFON.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News