Keck Telescope to Focus on Rings of Saturn

Saturn will be the star of the party Friday, May 20, from 8-11 p.m. during a free, public viewing with the Keck Telescope at Westmont’s observatory. Westmont serves as one of the public observing sites for the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit (SBAU) every third Friday of the month, weather permitting. In case of inclement weather, please call the Telescope Viewing Hotline at (805) 565-6272 and check the Westmont website at www.westmont.edu to see if the viewing has been cancelled.

Westmont physics instructor Thomas Whittemore, who earned his doctorate at the University of Arizona, says the moon won’t rise until about 11:30 p.m., making Saturn a magnificent target. “If the night is steady, we should be able to see the Cassini Division, a blank separation between the A and B rings, along with five of this gas giant’s moons: Titan, Rhea, Dione, Tethys and Enceladus,” he says.

Fainter objects in the evening sky that may be available for viewing include globular clusters, M3 in Canes Venatici, and M5 in Serpens. Each is a member of the Milky Way. M3 lies about 33,900 light-years from earth and contains about 500,000 stars which are older than our Sun. “One of my favorites, M5, lies some 24,500 light-years from Earth, is oval in shape and spans about 150 light years from side to side,” Whittemore says. “These remarkably bright objects will certainly dazzle the public’s eyes.”

Westmont students and faculty use the 24-inch reflector telescope to conduct astronomical research. The Keck Telescope is housed in the observatory between Russell Carr Field and the track and field/soccer complex. Free parking is available near the baseball field.