WELCOME TO THE

Westmont Observatory

Celestial Showcase Includes Jupiter’s Red Spot

Mercury and Saturn are expected to make an appearance at this month’s free stargazing event Friday, Feb. 20, beginning at 6:30 p.m. and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory.

“The moon will also be up in its waxing crescent phase,” says Jennifer Gee, an assistant professor of physics who directs the observatory. “Otherwise, throughout the night, we will get to see some old friends, namely Jupiter and Orion. As the night goes on, we might get to see Mizar and Alcor in Ursa Major (the big dipper).”

She says Jupiter rotates once every 10 hours. “So, I'd like to think the odds of us seeing its red spot through a telescope at some point during these open viewings are good,” Gee says. “Maybe it'll happen on Friday! My crystal ball (aka Stellarium) predicts it to be visible around 9 p.m. Come and find out if my software is correct!”

Along with the college’s powerful Keck Telescope, members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit bring their telescopes to share with the public on the third Friday of every month.

In case of cloudy weather, please call the Telescope Viewing Hotline at (805) 565-6272 and check the observatory website to see if the viewing has been canceled.

In case of inclement weather, please call the Telescope Viewing Hotline at (805) 565-6272 and check the observatory website to see if the viewing has been canceled.

KECK TELESCOPE

A Powerful Instrument for Astronomical Observations at Westmont

Physics Department Home

The Keck Telescope, a computer-controlled 24-inch F/8 Cassegrain reflector with Ritchey-Chretien optics (the same configuration used on the Hubble Space Telescope), has served as a versatile instrument for Westmont faculty and students for over a decade and remains one of the most powerful telescopes on the California Central Coast. Not only has the device been used for a variety of research projects and coursework, but it has also been a source of awe and inspiration for the greater Santa Barbara community.

The Westmont Observatory also serves as one of the free, public observing sites for the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit (SBAU) every third Friday of the month. In particular, the Keck Telescope has provided clearer and more dramatic demonstrations of the splendor of God’s creation to members of the broader Santa Barbara community, including young children and students in local schools.

“The observatory remains a signature component of the Westmont campus and a favorite among our current students and returning alumni,” says Professor Bob Haring-Kaye from the Department of Physics and Engineering. “We are excited to see how this facility will continue to be used to provide outstanding educational experiences, including meaningful research experiences, to our students and point to the artistic grandeur of the Creator.”

Three students walking in front of the Carroll Observatory.

The Keck Telescope

History

The original Westmont College Observatory was dedicated on June 1, 1957. (It has since been replaced by a new observatory in 2010.) The main dome featured a 16.5-inch reflector which was made and donated by George Carroll. The scope was equipped for spectroscopic and micrometric work, whose introduction originally made national news.

More recently, the original telescope caught the limelight as a group of amateur astronomers from the Santa Barbara Astronomy group observed the rotation of Mars with a CCD camera (Astronomy Magazine, Feb. 1989, p. 92.) These were some of the very first CCD images of Mars taken by amateurs.