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Westmont opens its observatory and powerful Keck Telescope for this month’s free public stargazing event Friday, July 18, beginning at 8:30 p.m. and lasting several hours. This month will be another chance to see Mizar, the middle star in the Big Dipper’s handle, and Alcor, the two stars that are actually six. “As we move through summer and into fall, these two will be harder and harder to see as they move below the horizon in the evenings, so come out and take a look if you haven’t seen them yet,” says Jennifer Gee, assistant professor of physics and director of the Westmont Observatory.
Westmont hosts a free, public viewing on the third Friday of every month with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, whose members bring their telescopes to share with the public.
Additionally, the viewing will feature the Great Star Cluster in Hercules (M13), often cited as the grandest globular cluster north of the celestial equator. Located 25,000 light-years away, it hosts more than 100,000 stars crammed into a volume of space roughly 150 light-years in diameter.
“It always amazes me,” Gee says. “It’s an astounding canvas of stars. Assuming it’s clear skies, it’ll be dark enough by 9 p.m., and we’ll be out there for a couple of hours.”
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. 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.
