Welcome to the John J. McCarthy Observatory
The Galactic Observer
The McCarthy Observatory publishes a monthly newsletter called The Galactic Observer. The newsletter includes interesting space-related news, feature stories, current events at JJMO, and a calendar of both upcoming and historical space milestones.
October 2021
September 2021
Our next open house will be on October 9, starting at 7:00 pm. There will be a short, informal talk on a timely space exploration topic, and all are welcome to view the night sky through our telescopes (weather permitting). We are following CDC guidelines, so we are asking all visitors to please wear a mask.
Second Saturday Stars & Special Events
Join us for our free and open to the public star party on the Second Saturday of every month! Each month a new presentation is given on an astronomy related topic. If weather permits, a variety of telescopes are available for public viewing of seasonal celestial objects. The observatory may also host special viewing events when possible for rare or interesting astronomical phenomena such as eclipses and transits.
All of our previous Second Saturday installments are available on our YouTube channel– please subscribe stay up to date with our latest events!
Location
The observatory is located on the south west side of the New Milford High School grounds, in the rear of the south parking lot next to the football field.
AllSky Camera
The All-Sky Camera is a 180 degree field of view camera mounted on the roof of the observatory. It monitors local weather/sky conditions, and captures meteors for potential analysis. Click the image above for more information.
On the Observatory Grounds
Scale Solar System Walk
Kathleen Fischer Sundial
Galileo’s Garden