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Institution

U.S. Naval Observatory

A grand, illuminated building with a dome and columns stands prominently against a dark sky, symbolizing the U.S. Naval Observatory, one of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States, founded in 1830 in Washington, D.C.

One of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States, founded in 1830 in Washington, D.C., and the source of the official time scale used by the U.S. military and the Global Positioning System. The observatory operates a vault of around a hundred cesium-beam and hydrogen-maser atomic clocks whose collective weighted average defines UTC(USNO) to within nanoseconds of international atomic time.

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