Viewing Includes an Asteroid Occultation Stargazing with Saturn, Neptune, Uranus

The Westmont Observatory will highlight several celestial objects, including Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, the Pleiades, Jupiter and Orion's nebula at its monthly stargazing event Friday, Jan. 16, beginning about 6 p.m. and lasting several hours.

“This appears to be our last chance to zoom in on Saturn before it begins to sets too early for us to see it until it returns in October,” says Jen Gee, assistant professor of physics and director of the observatory. 

Scientists have also calculated an asteroid occultation, when an asteroid passes in front of a star, at 7:38 p.m. “Get there by 7:30 p.m. if you'd like to try to see it,” Gee says. “Chuck McPartlin from SBAU is planning to be there with his equipment to view and record the fascinating event.”

Westmont hosts a free, public viewing on the third Friday of every month at sunset and lasting several hours. Along with the college’s powerful Keck Telescope, members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit bring their telescopes to share with the public.

Free parking is available near the Westmont Observatory, which is between the baseball field and the track and field/soccer complex. To enter Westmont's campus, please use the Main Entrance off of La Paz Road. The lower entrance off of Cold Springs Road is closed to visitors after 7 p.m. Here is a map with directions to get to the observatory.

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.