New Telescope Brings Better Clarity to Carroll Observatory

After more than 50 years, Westmont will retire its 16-inch Newtonian telescope from Carroll Observatory and install a 24-inch F/8 Cassegrain with Ritchey-Chrétien optics. The new instrument features more than twice the light-gathering power of the old one and nearly twice the resolving power.

A $300,000 W. M. Keck Foundation grant for the telescope follows a $90,000 award from the James L. Stamps Foundation and a $15,000 gift from another foundation. College officials are working to secure the remaining funds for the $635,000 project.

Based in Los Angeles, the W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late W. M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company. The foundation’s grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research, science and engineering. The foundation also maintains a program to support undergraduate science and humanities education and a Southern California Grant Program that provides support in the areas of health care, civic and community services, education and the arts, with a special emphasis on children.

Obtaining the research-grade telescope meets one of Westmont’s funding priorities: improving the quality of science facilities and equipment. The arrival of the new instrument contributes to the evolution of the physics department into a physics and astronomy program. This change may encourage more women to join study physics as they have traditionally shown a strong interest in astronomy.

“We are ready to take another step forward in science education at Westmont,” says President Stan D. Gaede. “Not only will the telescope provide a valuable resource for our general education curriculum, but it offers an opportunity to transform our very fine physics department into a physics and astronomy program.”

“This telescope will be a magnet for astronomy enthusiasts around Santa Barbara and the South Coast,” says Michael Sommermann, professor of physics. “It will become a focal point for astronomical research by faculty and students in areas such as the photometry of variable stars, minor planet observations and much more.”

On the third Friday of each month, in cooperation with members of Santa Barbara’s Astronomical Unit, Westmont opens its observatory to local residents. An expanded astronomy program in the upgraded facilities will provide new opportunities for outreach to children and students in Santa Barbara schools and the community.

 For directions to Westmont, visit www.westmont.edu. For more information, contact the public affairs office at (805) 565-7057 or pubaffairs@westmont.edu.