Entry No. 7 — the Santa Barbara file — filed under: observatory

Westmont College Observatory

Wedged between the baseball field and the soccer complex on a small Christian liberal-arts campus sits a dome housing a 24-inch computer-controlled Cassegrain reflector with the same optical configuration as the Hubble Space Telescope — one of the most powerful scopes on the Central Coast, free for anyone to walk up and look through.

The move: Follow the campus signage past the athletic fields on the third Friday of the month, join students and Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit members at the eyepiece for moon craters, double stars, and star clusters — no reservation, no experience, no cost.

• 📍 Montecito
• 💸 $
• ⚡ Low-key
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: 955 La Paz Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108

Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Official site · sbau.org

last checked: 2026-07-20