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NGS Honors the Gaithersburg International Latitude Observatory

Friday July 26, 2019

NGS commemorated the 120th anniversary of the Gaithersburg International Latitude Observatory with equipment demonstrations, tours of the Observatory, and activities for the public related to the science that was conducted there. The City of Gaithersburg and five other cities around the globe are linked by a unique scientific endeavor that began in 1899, when the Observatory was built as part of an international project to measure the earth's wobble on its polar axis. Built by Edwin Smith for the International Geodetic Association in 1899 as one of six located around the globe, the Observatory played an important role in understanding Earth's weather conditions and physical characteristics, including validating the Earth's wobble on its polar axis. Fully restored in the 1980s, the observatory building, the meridian mark pier, and the five survey markers on the observatory grounds are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The other five observatories are located in Cincinnati, Ohio; Ukiah, California; Mizusawa, Japan; Kitab, Uzbekistan; and Caligari, Sardinia, Italy.

For more information, contact: Joe Evjen