Tag archives: Jen Ito

April Stargazing Features Jupiter
By Scott Craig   |   April 22, 2025

The Westmont Observatory opens to the public for a free stargazing event Friday, April 25, beginning about 8 pm and lasting several hours.  Jen Ito, Westmont assistant professor of physics, says the college’s powerful Keck Telescope will zoom in on the gas giant Jupiter. “This will probably be the last time we’ll get to see […]

Stargazers to Catch Martian Views
By Scott Craig   |   March 25, 2025

Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope will zoom in on Jupiter and its Galilean moons on Friday, March 21, beginning at 7:30 pm and lasting several hours. The Westmont Observatory is open to the public every third Friday of the month and held in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, whose members bring their own telescopes […]

Star Party Features Saturn, Jupiter 
By Scott Craig   |   December 24, 2024

Westmont’s final monthly stargazing event of 2024 features our solar system’s two gas giants, as well as Orion, the Owl Cluster, and the Andromeda galaxy – on Friday, December 20, at 6:30 pm and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. Along with the college’s powerful Keck Telescope, members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit […]

Stargazing Features Beaver Moon, Owl Cluster
By Scott Craig   |   November 19, 2024

The November public stargazing event will feature a Beaver Moon, Owl Cluster and two gas giants, Saturn and Jupiter, on Friday, Nov. 15 – beginning at 6 pm and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. The college hosts a free public viewing on the third Friday of every month in conjunction with the Santa […]

Put a Ring on It
By Scott Craig   |   September 24, 2024

The planet Saturn will be the star of the show on Friday, Sept. 20, from 7:30-10 pm at the Westmont Observatory. “If you haven’t seen this unique planet and its rings through a telescope before, I highly encourage you to come out and join us,” says Jen Ito, assistant professor of physics and director of […]

Stargazers to Be Moonstruck Saturday
By Scott Craig   |   September 17, 2024

The public is invited to join Westmont’s astrophysics students to learn more about the moon on NASA’s International Observe the Moon Night on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 7:30-9:30 pm at the Westmont Observatory.  “The moon is something we’re so used to seeing, and it’s an important part of our life here on Earth,” says Jen […]

Physics Students Work at Chilean Telescopes
By Scott Craig   |   September 19, 2023

For the first time in more than a decade, undergraduate students assisted with research at the Simons Array, a set of three telescopes in the Atacama Desert in Chile at an elevation of about 17,000 feet. Westmont students Michael Lew and Jacob Nelson joined Jen Ito, assistant professor of physics, at the site, an expansion […]