Tag archives: observatory
Westmont invites the community to explore the cosmos during a free public stargazing event Friday, Sept. 18, starting at 7 pm and lasting several hours. Held in conjunction with NASA’s International Observe the Moon Night, the evening unleashes the power of Westmont’s Keck Telescope alongside high-powered instruments from the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit to bring […]
Westmont invites the local community to explore the night sky during its monthly free public stargazing event on Friday, June 19, beginning at 8:45 pm and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. “Weather permitting, visitors will have the opportunity to view the moon, the Hercules globular cluster, and Mizar and Alcor – a famous […]
The Westmont Observatory opens to the public Friday, April 17, after 7:30 pm for a night of stargazing that will feature views of Jupiter and the star pair Mizar and Alcor. The event is expected to last several hours. Mizar and Alcor, located in the handle of the Big Dipper, are two pairs of double […]
Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope zooms in on the rings of Saturn on Friday, Oct. 17, beginning about 7 pm and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. Westmont hosts a stargazing event the third Friday of each month in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, whose members bring telescopes to share. “Saturn will be […]
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 […]
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 […]
Tim Lister PhD, Senior Scientist at the Las Cumbres Observatory, Goleta, has been awarded a grant from NASA to join the European Space Agency’s Hera Mission, as one of 12 U.S. participating scientists. On September 26, 2022, the world’s first planetary defense test mission was carried out by NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). In […]
Attention all space cowboys and star-trekking galaxy women! On Star Date 77800.4, Thursday, May 2, 5:30 – 7:30 pm, the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) is inviting the public to its 10-year anniversary celebration at its main headquarters in Goleta. The event commemorates ten years of operating their global telescope network. This is a great opportunity […]
On the heels of Saturday’s annual solar eclipse, the Westmont Observatory opens to the public with the two gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn, making an appearance in the night sky Friday, October 20, beginning at sunset and lasting several hours. This month’s free stargazing event features the college’s powerful Keck Telescope, a computer-controlled 24-inch reflector, […]
The Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) celebrated its one-year anniversary of “Astronomy on Tap” at the M. Special Brewing Company State Street taproom, on August 24. The back patio bar was packed with scientists, astronomers, students, and budding Jedi Knights in training, some with their pets, gathered to hear the presentations by Senior Astro-data Scientist Curtis […]
The gas giant Saturn will be the star attraction at this month’s free, public viewing Friday, August 18, beginning at about 8 pm and lasting several hours at the observatory. Stargazing at Westmont includes the college’s powerful Keck Telescope, a computer-controlled 24-inch reflector. Members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit bring their own telescopes to […]
Westmont hosts a star party of sorts on Friday, July 21, beginning about 8 pm and lasting several hours at the observatory. The college’s powerful Keck Telescope, a computer-controlled 24-inch reflector, is available to the public every third Friday of month in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit (SBAU). Members of the SBAU bring […]
At the 14th Asteroids, Comets, Meteors Conferenceon June 18-23 held in Flagstaff, Arizona, astrophysics scientist Tim Lister PhD, who works at the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) in Goleta, was awarded for his life’s work in the field with the naming of an asteroid, also known as a minor planet, after him. The meeting, of which […]
Tune in you star trekkers, gazers, and galaxy aficionados, Las Cumbres Observatory’s (LCO) Astronomy on Tap is back on the planet every month in a new location: the outside patio at M Special Taproom on State Street. The new venue allows for the Astro on Tap monthlies to be an all-ages event, while still be […]
This month’s public viewing of the stars will focus on several exotic Messier objects as the summer Milky Way stretches across the sky from the northeast to the southwest. The free viewing on Friday, August 19, begins at sunset and lasts several hours at the Westmont Observatory. Face coverings are required at the event, which […]
It’s globular cluster season at the Westmont observatory with this month’s viewing focusing on two conglomerations containing hundreds of thousands of stars. The free, public viewing of the stars is Friday, July 15, beginning at 7 pm and lasting several hours. Face coverings will be required at the event. Westmont hosts viewings on the third […]
Though the May gray wiped out last month’s public viewing, officials are counting their lucky stars and hoping for a break from June gloom for the event on Friday, June 17, at the Westmont Observatory. The free gathering, held in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, begins after sunset and lasts several hours. In […]
The Westmont Observatory opens its doors to the public Friday, April 15, beginning at 7 pm and lasting several hours. Face coverings will be required at the event. Westmont hosts a free, public viewing on the third Friday of every month. Along with the college’s powerful Keck Telescope, members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit […]
The Westmont Observatory opens to the public Friday, March 18, beginning at 7 pm and lasting several hours. Face coverings will be required at the event. Due to the pandemic, this is the first time in two years the observatory has been open to the public. Westmont hosts a free, public viewing on the third […]
