Tag archives: space
Blue Origins New Shepard rocket launched on Monday with its all-female crew, including Santa Barbara singer Katy Perry, CBS News anchor Gayle King, and Lauren Sanchez, fiancée of Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos. It soared through the Texas sky with the tony triumvirate and three other crew members enjoying a few minutes in space before returning […]
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 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 […]
If the weather cooperates, the Westmont Observatory will open for the viewing of a rare lunar event beginning Thursday, March 13, at 10 pm and lasting until Friday, March 14, at 1 am. The powerful Keck Telescope will zoom in on a total lunar eclipse, which will be visible throughout North American and in some […]
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 […]
Captain’s Log Star Date 78338.4. It was the evening before the full Beaver moon for budding astrophysicists and stargazers from local universities to join with friends to hear the Las Cumbres Observatory’s renown astrophysicist Tim Lister PhD, with Andrew [Andy] Howell PhD and Moira Andrews UCSB grad student at the M Special pub. This free […]
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 […]
Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope takes aim at Saturn and a supermoon at this month’s free public stargazing event on Friday, Oct. 18, beginning about 7 pm and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. The college hosts a monthly star party on the third Friday of each month in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Star Trek is my religion. I grew up imagining a future of contact with alien beings who we could learn from. Back in 1950 physicist Enrico Fermi asked, “But where is everybody?” If our galaxy is teeming with planets and our planet is nothing special, why haven’t we encountered any evidence of aliens? We have […]
The human race can just get over itself now. On the other hand we are the exalted inventors of the Lunar Lander and Franco-American Spaghetti-Os™. This is the tormenting dichotomy of our species. We’re complicated, embarrassed, self-regarding busybodies who have daubed the whole of our vast canvas with the overexcited brushstrokes of a sugared-up preschooler, […]
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 […]
Less than two weeks after everyone’s attention was focused on the solar eclipse, the Westmont Observatory focuses on lunar craters and a red giant Friday, April 19, beginning after sunset at 7:30 pm and lasting several hours. The observatory, home to the powerful Keck Telescope, opens to the public every third Friday of the month […]
Jupiter and the Great Orion Nebula, M42, will be part of this month’s free stargazing event Friday, March 15, beginning about 6 pm and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. Along with Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope, members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Society bring their own telescopes to share with the public. Views of […]
Bundle up and head to the Westmont Observatory, which opens to the public for its free, monthly Stargazing event Friday, December 15, beginning at sunset and lasting several hours. Saturn and many other celestial delights will be targeted by Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope and the other scopes owned by members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical […]
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 lunar-tics were out in force when bubbly Brenda Blalock hosted a two-hour trip aboard the 70-foot cruiser Azure Seas to catch the rare SuperMoon, when the planet is at its nearest point to Earth due to its elliptical orbit, creating an awe-inspiring sight. Thirty friends turned out for the fun coastal fête launching from […]
This month’s Stargazing at the Westmont Observatory features a diverse celestial menu of planets, Messier objects, open clusters, and double stars on Friday, Feb. 17, beginning about 6 pm and lasting for several hours. The observatory, home of the powerful Keck Telescope, is open to the public every third Friday of the month and held […]
