Our next open house is April 12th, 8:00-10:00 pm, featuring our annual state of the Earth discussion. Hope to see you there!

Saturday May 10th is our next open house, 8:00-10:00 pm. Please join us for an interesting presentation and viewing of the night sky (weather permitting).

Hi Folks, June 14th is our next open house. Learn how McCarthy Observatory participates in helping plot orbits of Potentially Hazardous Objects (PHOs). Hope to see you there.

McCarthy Observatory was recently ranked 57th out of 156 observatories worldwide wide for significance of contributions to asteroid position measurements. The ranking comes from NEODyS (Near Earth Objects-Dynamic Site) and includes large professional mountain top observatories

The Observatory has two meteor cameras on the roof that record bright meteors each night. Early Wednesday morning we recorded a very bright fireball. Notice how it breaks up at the end. Keep looking up!

Our next open house is July 12th, 8:00-10:00 pm. Enjoy a brief discussion on our home galaxy, the Milky Way, and telescope views of the night sky if weather permits.

Hello everyone, our next event is August 9th. Hope to see you there!

We are pleased to announce that the observatory is one of the winners of the Shoemaker Near-Earth Object (NEO) Grant program from the Planetary Society. Read more here: planetary.org/articles/2025-… This screenshot capture is from the Planetary Society website.

Mark your calendars, our next star party is September 13th, 8:00-10:00 pm. Please join us!

Here are two Solar images taken with the observatory’s antique telescope in August. Note a very faint disturbance in the August 27th image marked Active Region 14204. This area would later send a solar flare towards Earth creating a mild auroral display.

October 11th is our next open house/star party. Please note the new seasonal hours, 7:00-9:00 pm. Hope to see you there!

Hi folks, please join us at our next open house on Saturday night, November 8th. Enjoy a brief presentation and views of the night sky if the weather cooperates.

The observatory has almost completed installation of our second telescope dome. This dome will house the previous Meade 16” telescope and will be used exclusively for Near Earth Object (NEO) and potentially hazardous asteroid tracking and research.

Twenty five years ago this month McCarthy Observatory had its official opening. Come join us for a review of our quarter century of dedication to the community and to science. Saturday December 13, 7:00-9:00 pm.

Hi folks, and Happy New Year! Our first event for 2026 is on January 10th, 7:00-9:00 pm. Please join us.

Please join us as McCarthy Observatory celebrates our 25th anniversary of service to the community and to science. On February 7th at the New Milford High School auditorium we will also dedicate our new dome, the Center for NEO (Near Earth Objects) Studies.

Due to the weather forecast we made the difficult decision to postpone the anniversary celebration scheduled for February 7th.

Please join us for the next star party on Saturday, March 14th 7:00-9:00 pm. We will have a special presentation by Cynthia Bonnell, New Milford K-5 STEM teacher. Hope to see you there! Several telescopes will be set up if 5he weather allows.

Hi folks, we have a special event planned for the next open house on April 9th. This will be our 25th anniversary celebration and dedication of the new telescope dome. Come hear some interesting speakers and view the night sky of the weather allows. Hope to see you there.

Thank you to all who came to our 25th anniversary celebration! Our next event is May 9th, 8:00-10:00 pm. See you then.