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High-Tech Telescope Installed at Westmont College |
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By Melissa Evans
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Thursday, April 26 2007 |
 Westmont College will house the most powerful telescope on the Central Coast. Courtesy Photo.
A large crane lowered the 24-inch reflector telescope into the college's Carroll Observatory Tuesday. It will gather twice the amount of light as Westmont's current 16-inch telescope.
The new telescope will be a "magnet for astronomy enthusiasts around Santa Barbara and South Coast," Michael Sommermann, a Westmont physics professor, said in a statement.
The telescope will be used as a focal point for astronomical research by faculty and students in such areas as the "photometry of variable stars, minor planet observations and more," Sommermann said.
 A new 24-inch reflector was lowered into the Carroll Observatory at Westmont College Tuesday. Courtesy photo.
The $635,000 project was partially funded through two grants: The W.M. Keck Foundation gave Westmont $300,000 for the telescope, and the James L. Stamps Foundation chipped in $90,000 for the project. College officials will launch a fundraising campaign to foot the remainder of the bill.
A viewing room for the public will be located below the telescope. Westmont serves as one of the observing sites for the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, which holds public viewings every third Friday of the month.
The upgraded facilities will also be available to children and educational groups throughout Santa Barbara County.
— Melissa Evans |
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