Observatories
The Harvard College Observatory plates come from a network of observatories which provided full coverage of both celestial hemispheres. This table lists the known telescope locations and because telescopes were moved, the ranges of plate numbers at each location. Typically, each telescope was assigned a unique plate series. Questions marks appear where the locations have not been verified from archive records.
This table also includes observatories which have loaned plates to the Harvard College Observatory for scanning.
There are currently 23 observatories in the database.
| Location | W Longitude (deg) | Latitude (deg) | elevation (m) | Series | First Plate | Last Plate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ossipee, NH | 71.116789 ? | 43.685341 ? | 201 | aco | 1 | 50 |
| aco | 55 | 64 | ||||
| Oak Ridge | 71.5583 | 42.5033 | 185 | ac | 32289 | 42483 |
| ac | 42484 | 42533 | ||||
| dnb | 1 | 149 ? | ||||
| dnb | 150 ? | 1622 ? | ||||
| dnb | 1623 ? | 6711 ? | ||||
| dnb | 7000 ? | 7000 ? | ||||
| dnb | 7006 ? | 7006 ? | ||||
| dnb | 7009 ? | 7009 ? | ||||
| dnr | 1 | 832 ? | ||||
| dnr | 833 ? | 1148 ? | ||||
| dnr | 2085 ? | 2085 ? | ||||
| dny | 1 | 383 ? | ||||
| dny | 384 ? | 448 ? | ||||
| dsb | 3006 ? | 3019 ? | ||||
| i | 52664 | 52670 | ||||
| i | 52671 | 52672 | ||||
| i | 52673 | 52822 | ||||
| ir | 1 | 12558 | ||||
| ir | 12559 | 12798 | ||||
| ir | 20000 | 20004 | ||||
| j | 1 | 4770 | ||||
| ma | 7311 | 11294 | ||||
| ma | 11295 | 11297 | ||||
| ma | 11298 | 11595 | ||||
| ma | 11596 | 11600 | ||||
| ma | 11601 | 11670 | ||||
| ma | 11671 | 11737 | ||||
| mc | 26094 | 38522 | ||||
| mc | 38523 | 38535 | ||||
| mc | 38536 | 39231 | ||||
| mc | 39232 | 39241 | ||||
| mc | 39242 | 39684 | ||||
| mc | 39685 | 40591 | ||||
| mc | 40592 ? | 41475 ? | ||||
| rh | 4469 | 16045 | ||||
| rh | 16046 | 16053 | ||||
| rh | 16054 | 16054 | ||||
| rh | 16055 | 16060 | ||||
| rh | 16061 | 16061 | ||||
| rh | 16062 | 16178 | ||||
| Cambridge | 71.1292 | 42.38 | 24 | a | 1 | 1730 |
| ac | 1 | 32288 | ||||
| aco | 51 | 54 | ||||
| aco | 65 | 78 | ||||
| ax | 1 | 450 | ||||
| ay | 1 | 1974 | ||||
| ayroe | 1 | 10 ? | ||||
| b | 1 | 3186 | ||||
| b | 37264 | 37280 | ||||
| b | 45182 | 45268 | ||||
| bm | 1 | 99999 | ||||
| ca | 1 | 1302 | ||||
| i | 1 | 52663 | ||||
| i | 52823 | 59246 | ||||
| ma | 2101 | 7310 | ||||
| mb | 2101 ? | 2387 ? | ||||
| mb | 2388 | 2722 | ||||
| mb | 2723 ? | 99999 ? | ||||
| mc | 1 | 26093 | ||||
| mc | 50000 | 50000 | ||||
| me | 941 | 2951 | ||||
| me | 50000 | 50000 | ||||
| mf | 1 | 2513 | ||||
| rh | 1 | 4468 | ||||
| x | 1 | 1141 | ||||
| Norwell, MA | 70.7944 ? | 42.0538 ? | 38 | ak | 1 | 12 |
| ak | 13 | 39 | ||||
| ak | 758 | 766 | ||||
| ak | 767 | 777 | ||||
| Taunton, MA | 71.0903 ? | 41.8997 ? | 3 | ma | 1 | 1797 |
| ma | 1798 ? | 2086 ? | ||||
| mb | 1 | 1776 | ||||
| mb | 1777 ? | 2086 ? | ||||
| Willows, CA | 122.1941 ? | 39.525 ? | 42 | b | 3187 | 3296 |
| x | 1200 ? | 1387 ? | ||||
| Wilsons Peak | 118.0596 | 34.2153 | 1737 | x | 1400 | 3797 |
| McDonald Observatory | 104.02304 ? | 30.67164 ? | 2064 | rh | 16179 ? | 16201 ? |
| Jamaica | 77 ? | 18 ? | 33 | ak | 778 ? | 779 ? |
| San Jose, Peru | 79.84 ? | -6.7297 ? | 28 | am | 16635 | 16722 |
| mf | 8974 ? | 8992 ? | ||||
| Mt. Harvard, Peru | 76.7036 ? | -11.8756 ? | 2386 | b | 3301 | 5845 |
| Arequipa | 71.55 | -16.375 | 2451 | a | 1731 | 14110 |
| am | 1 | 16457 | ||||
| ax | 451 | 1379 | ||||
| ax | 1380 | 1387 | ||||
| ax | 1388 | 2002 | ||||
| b | 5846 | 37263 | ||||
| b | 37281 | 45181 | ||||
| b | 45269 | 53754 | ||||
| mf | 2514 | 8219 | ||||
| mf | 8419 | 8973 | ||||
| mf | 8993 | 9922 | ||||
| x | 3801 | 3969 | ||||
| x | 3970 ? | 4664 ? | ||||
| x | 4665 | 15297 | ||||
| Chuquicamata, Ch | 68.9292 ? | -22.315 ? | 2729 | am | 16458 | 16634 |
| mf | 8220 | 8418 | ||||
| mf | 9923 | 10103 | ||||
| Hanover, S. Africa | -30 ? | -25 ? | 1124 | ak | 101 | 757 |
| Bloemfontein | -26.4042 | -29.0383 | 1387 | a | 14111 | 27504 |
| am | 16723 | 28562 | ||||
| ax | 2003 | 4833 | ||||
| b | 53755 | 76864 | ||||
| dsb | 3 | 467 | ||||
| dsr | 3 | 435 | ||||
| dsy | 3 | 435 | ||||
| mf | 10104 | 140897 | ||||
| pz | 1 | 166 | ||||
| rb | 1 | 17030 | ||||
| sq | 1 | 505 | ||||
| x | 15298 | 19090 | ||||
| El Leoncito, Argentina | 67 ? | -30 ? | 488 | yb | 1 | 9999 ? |
| CTIO | 70.8042 | -30.1683 | 2203 | dsb | 468 | 660 |
| dsr | 436 ? | 728 ? | ||||
| Mt. John, NZ | -170.4666 | -43.9867 | 1029 | dsb | 661 | 2895 |