MARSTOWN
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OBSERVATORY

New Windsor, Maryland (USA)


Phobos-Grunt in UMA(Jan 2012)
The Russian-built Phobos-Grunt mission streaks through the constellation of Ursa Major in this 28 second time exposure taken on the morning of January 3, 2012. Launched on November 8, 2011 the mission failed to achieve a subsequent rocket burn that would have sent it outward bound to Mars. The Chinese-built Yinghuo-1 Mars orbiter is also aboard. The ill-fated spacecraft are in a decaying Earth orbit and predicted to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up on or about January 15.

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(Photo credit: MTO)

Marstown Observatory is located in Carroll County, Maryland one mile from the unincorporated hamlet of Marston. The nearest town is historic New Windsor (established in 1797) located four miles northwest of the observatory. The closest major cities are Baltimore (30 miles ESE) and Washington, DC (50 miles S).

Grand Planetary Conjunction

Grand Planetary Conjunction (May 2011)
In May, 2011 four planets converged for a month long dance in the morning sky. This is the view of Mars, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury on one of those mornings, as viewed from MTO.

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(Photo credit: MTO)

Total Lunar Eclipse

Winter Solstice Total Lunar Eclipse (21 Dec 2010)
Total lunar eclipse from MTO on December 21, on the day of the Winter Solstice. Prior to 2010, the last time a total lunar eclipse occurred on the Winter Solstice was in the year 1638. The next year in which a total lunar eclipse coincides with the Winter Solstice will be in 2094.

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(Photo credit: MTO)

MTO would like to thank everyone who donated their time and materials, or helped in the construction of the observatory..
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Current Local Conditions at
Marstown Observatory:

US Naval Observatory Master Clock
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Marstown Observatory Clear Sky Clock

Clocks for good observing sites


Bear Branch Nature Center (Wesminter, MD)


Morgan County Observatory (Berkeley Springs, WV


Tuckahoe State Park (MD)


Mountain Meadows Observatory (WV)


Kile Knob (WV)


Cherry Springs State Park (PA)

Clear Sky Clocks for all Maryland Locations

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Clear Sky Clocks for all Pennsylvania Locations

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URL of this page: marstown.us.

Contact the MTO Director at marstown@gmail.com.

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