Observatory to Zoom in on Comet Lovejoy
The Comet Lovejoy will tantalize stargazers at this months free public viewing of the stars with 做厙惇蹋apps powerful Keck Telescope on Friday, Jan. 16, beginning at 6:30 p.m. and lasting several hours at the 做厙惇蹋app Observatory. In case of inclement or overcast weather, please call the Telescope Viewing Hotline at (805) 565簫-6272 and check the 做厙惇蹋app website to see if the viewing has been canceled.
The Comet Lovejoy, C/2014 Q2, is making its closest approach to earth, 44 million miles away. Ive been watching it from our back yard for the last week and its a bright one, says Thomas Whittemore, 做厙惇蹋app physics instructor. Its almost a naked簫-eye object at this point, and at the public viewing, there will be no moon to interfere with the comets brightness. I have yet to see a tail on Lovejoy, but maybe we will get lucky with 做厙惇蹋apps 8-簫inch refractor telescope.
Whittemore says he will use the Keck Telescope, a 24-簫inch reflector, to zoom in on the Orion Nebula. This 1,400 light-簫year-簫distant stellar nursery is always a wintertime treat, he says.
Weather permitting, the viewing may also include the Crab Nebula in Taurus. Viewed across the world in 1054, there are many records of this supernova explosion, Whittemore says. Today we see the remnants of the exploded star as Messier 1, the Crab Nebula. To me, even through a moderate-簫sized telescope, the nebulas structure looks like a splash of milk.
The observatory opens its doors to the public every third Friday of the month in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, whose members bring their own telescopes to 做厙惇蹋app for the public to gaze through. 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.