Saturn

Berkeley County Planetarium at Hedgesville High School will host a NASA-prepared program on the landing of the space probe Huygens on the surface of Saturn's moon, Titan. The artist's rendering above shows Huygens on the right parachuting to Titan's surface. Huygens' mothership, Cassini, is shown in the upper left of the image. In anticipation of Huygens' scheduled landing on Titan early on Friday, Jan. 14, a planetarium program called "Ringworld" will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13. "Ringworld" will chronicle the missions of both probes - Cassini and Huygens - to Saturn and its moons.

Variety has always been the spice of life, but that old adage takes on a whole new meaning now that the Outlook has been added to the Saturn fold. This wagon/sport-utility-vehicle cross joins the German-based Aura sedan and sporty Sky roadster as the company's new kids on the block, providing a surge of choices for fans of this General Motors division. The 2007 Outlook is actually one of a trio of wagon-like sport-utility vehicles from GM. It joins the similarly sized and featured '07 GMC Acadia and the Buick Enclave that's scheduled to appear next year.

Far from falling, the Sky is actually raising Saturn's normally conservative profile and adding more luster to General Motors' expanding crop of fun and sporty automobiles. Since GM launched its import-fighting Saturn marque back in the early 1990s, the lineup has primarily focused on sane and sensible automobiles that fit right in with the brand's no-hassle, no-haggle marketing philosophy. Lately, however, there have been signs that the division is aggressively courting the performance/image crowd with the launch of the Red Line brand of vehicles, essentially an option grouping that's currently available on the Ion Quad Coupe and Vue sport-ute.

Is it a sport-utility vehicle that wants to be a minivan, or a minivan that just wants to look a little more rugged? When it comes to the new 2005 Saturn Relay, you could easily build a case for both, but since this seven-passenger people-mover shares its architecture with the rebranded '05 Chevrolet Uplander, Buick Terazza and Pontiac Montana SV6 minivans, we'll settle on the latter. Perhaps, however, we should be a little more focused on the fact that until now there hasn't actually been a Saturn minivan to brag about, which begs the question: what's up with that?

A Shippensburg woman was taken to Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center on Wednesday after she allegedly fell asleep at the wheel of a Saturn sedan and crashed into the back of a tractor-trailer, according to a news release from Pennsylvania State Police. Karen Fedele, 51, of Shippensburg, was driving a 2002 Saturn north on Pa. 696 at about 2:52 p.m. Wednesday when the accident occurred, state police said. The Saturn crossed the center line and hit the back of a 1996 Mack tractor-trailer driven by Jennifer S. Meis, 48, of Lomira, Wis., state police said.

Four people were injured Saturday morning in a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Memorial Boulevard and Frederick Street, according to a press release from the Hagerstown Police Department. The accident happened at 12:40 a.m. when a 2001 Saturn traveling east on Memorial Boulevard failed to stop for a red light and collided with a 2004 Dodge truck, according to the release. The truck overturned, skidded 100 feet and struck two parked vehicles, police said. The Saturn continued east and struck Advanced Auto Body and Towing, causing significant damage to the building, police said.

SMITHSBURG - A Hagerstown woman was flown to Baltimore's Shock Trauma Center with a fractured pelvis Wednesday after her car went off Leitersburg/Smithsburg Road near Stevenson Road and hit a utility pole, a Washington County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman said. Sarah Elizabeth Hills was driving her 1989 Saturn along the road at about 3 p.m., Deputy Casey Barnes said. Her injuries were not life-threatening, Barnes said.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - A West Virginia State Police trooper investigating an accident Tuesday night on Interstate 81 that involved at least three vehicles and one fatality said it is unclear why one of the cars drove off the highway, then went backward across the interstate. Michael Diaz, 13, of Whitehall, Pa., one of five children riding in the car, was killed in the 6:05 p.m. crash, Senior Trooper C.A. Ellwanger said. The crash occurred near an I-81 bridge that crosses U.S. 11 between the Exit 23 ramps for Falling Waters, W.Va.

scottb@herald-mail.com The Washington County Sheriff's Department has issued citations to a driver involved in an Aug. 18 accident in which the chief of the Potomac Valley Volunteer Fire Co. was injured, Sgt. Mark Knight said Thursday. Scott Matthew Morris, 21, of 60 St. Paul St., Boonsboro, was cited for driving under the influence of alcohol, driving while under the influence per se, driving while impaired with alcohol, failure to drive right of center and reckless driving, Knight said.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. - A 30-year-old Williamsport woman escaped injury Friday when a car clipped her while traveling north on Interstate 81, Pennsylvania State Police said in a press release. Angela Olham was driving her 1997 Saturn north on Interstate 81 near mile marker 5 when another driver attempted to change lanes and struck her car, according to the release. Police said they had no description of the striking vehicle, which continued north on I-81 without stopping. Olham also continued driving north, according to the release.

ANTIETAM BATTLEFIELD PUBLIC STAR PARTY   The annual spring Antietam Battlefield Public Star Party will be held April 27 and 28 from dusk to around 10 or 11 p.m. if the sky is clear.  A dozen or more scopes will be set up to help you enjoy the spring night sky. This is a good opportunity for you to see Saturn and its rings, lunar craters, and other deep space objects. Admission is free, and the telescopes will be set up on the western side of the Visitors' Center.

A Shippensburg woman was taken to Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center on Wednesday after she allegedly fell asleep at the wheel of a Saturn sedan and crashed into the back of a tractor-trailer, according to a news release from Pennsylvania State Police. Karen Fedele, 51, of Shippensburg, was driving a 2002 Saturn north on Pa. 696 at about 2:52 p.m. Wednesday when the accident occurred, state police said. The Saturn crossed the center line and hit the back of a 1996 Mack tractor-trailer driven by Jennifer S. Meis, 48, of Lomira, Wis., state police said.

Jim Stanicek caught a view of Saturn in his telescope. It was during a Tri-State Astronomers star party, a gathering where the public had been invited to a special viewing of the cosmos from Antietam National Battlefield. A young teen was next in line to peer into the telescope. "We've got Saturn here," Stanicek said. The girl took a cursory look and said, "Oh, OK," clearly unimpressed. Stanicek, 62, of Hagerstown, asked whether she really saw it, if she'd viewed the rings.

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. has a tentative deal to sell its Saturn brand to former race car driver and dealership group owner Roger Penske, according to two people briefed on the deal. GM has scheduled a conference call for 9 a.m. EDT Friday to discuss the sale, and Penske will be on the call along with Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deal has not been made public. Penske would get Saturn's dealership network, which consistently has scored highly in customer satisfaction surveys.