Harvard College Observatory

observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

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The Harvard College Observatory, founded in 1839 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was a pioneering institution in astronomical research in the United States. Under directors like Edward Charles Pickering and Harlow Shapley, it became a leading center for studying stellar spectra and magnitudes, and later expanded into galactic and extragalactic research.1

In 1973, the Harvard College Observatory merged with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory to form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). The CfA is a major research institution with divisions covering various fields of astrophysics, including planetary sciences and theoretical astrophysics. It operates observational facilities, such as the original 38-cm refractor at the Harvard College Observatory, and collaborates on telescopes like the Magellan Telescopes in Chile. The CfA also manages the International Astronomical Union's Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams and the Minor Planet Center.12

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Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Harvard College Observatory
The Harvard College Observatory was founded in 1839 by the Harvard Corporation at a time when few such facilities existed in the United States. Its 38-cm refractor rivaled the largest in the world at its opening in 1847. Under the directorship of…
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The Harvard College Observatory was founded in 1839 by the Harvard Corporation at a time when few such facilities existed in the United States. Its 38-cm refractor rivaled the largest in the world at its opening in 1847. Under the directorship of…
Read More

astronomy
The rise of astrophysics
…the next generation was the Harvard College Observatory, under the direction of American astronomer Edward Charles Pickering. By putting a prism in front of the object lens of a telescope, his team was able to photograph the spectra of many stars at once. The resulting Henry Draper Catalogue (named to…
Read More
…the next generation was the Harvard College Observatory, under the direction of American astronomer Edward Charles Pickering. By putting a prism in front of the object lens of a telescope, his team was able to photograph the spectra of many stars at once. The resulting Henry Draper Catalogue (named to…
Read More

Henrietta Swan Leavitt
…a volunteer assistant in the Harvard Observatory in 1895. In 1902 she received a permanent staff appointment. From the outset she was employed in the observatory’s great project, begun by Edward C. Pickering, of determining the brightnesses of all measurable stars. In this work she was associated with the older…
Read More
…a volunteer assistant in the Harvard Observatory in 1895. In 1902 she received a permanent staff appointment. From the outset she was employed in the observatory’s great project, begun by Edward C. Pickering, of determining the brightnesses of all measurable stars. In this work she was associated with the older…
Read More