Welcome to the Southern Maryland Fringe page. This page is devoted to providing information to support those NOVAC members who live in Southern Maryland. While mostly a Virginia group, there are a number of NOVAC members who live in Maryland.

Observing from Southern Maryland

Observing options range from an unofficial NOVAC site to those associated with other clubs to visiting the primary NOVAC sites in Virginia.

Aquasco Farm

NOVAC has entered into a formal arrangement to allow NOVAC members to observe from the Aquasco Farm section of the Patuxent River Park in extreme southern Prince George’s County. Details are here.

UMD Observatory

The University of Maryland operates an observatory in northern Prince George’s county, just inside the beltway, with scheduled open houses. While not an observing site, it’s worth a mention.

Tuckahoe State Park

The >Delmarva Stargazers (DSG) use a ball field near the campground area of Tuckahoe State Park. The site is located on the Eastern Shore, about 20 minutes from the Bay Bridge. The site is behind a locked gate in the winter and is regularly patrolled by rangers in the summer. Skies are dark enough to do plenty of deep sky observing and the folks are very friendly. You must be a member of DSG to use this site! A slightly different location at Tuckahoe is used as the site for the twice-a-year Delmarva Star Gaze.

Nanjemoy Creek

This site is operated by the Southern Maryland Astronomical Society (SMAS). More information here.

Southern Park, Charles County

Located in the extreme southern park of Charles County, on the Potomac river, Southern Park is an informal, unofficial observing site. More info is available here.

Other Sites

If you know of other interesting observing locations in Southern Maryland (Prince George’s County and southward), please contact Bob Bunge at bbunge(at)ladyandtramp dot com.