Collections• CTIO plates: 4-m, Curtis Schmidt and miscellaneous slit spectra

from 1967- 1998

• Warner and Swasey plates: direct and objective prism plates from 1944 to 1992

• University of Michigan plates: slit spectra from 1911 to 1973

Storage Status• Plates in original envelopes and cabinets.

• Temperature (18 C) and humidity (35%) controlled climate with backup power.

• Essentially negligible chance of plate damage from natural disasters.

J.D. Cline1, M. W. Castelaz1,T. Barker1, E. Griffin2, W. Osborn3

1Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute; 2Dominion Astrophysical Observatory;3Central Michigan University

The Astronomical Photographic Data Archive

Not-for-profit public foundation

AAS 211th Meetingwww.pari.edu

Workshop on a National Plan for Preserving Astronomical Photographic Data

November 1-3, 2007 at PARI

Focus

• Document scientific and historical rationale for preserving astronomical photographic plate collections.

• Evaluate the processes at APDA located at PARI.

• Establish an operational plan to ensure the preservation of astronomical plate collections.

Major Workshop Results

• Census of North American astronomical photographic plates will be carried out.

• PARI’s Astronomical Photographic Data Archive (APDA) will be developed as an astronomical photographic data repository.

• Special session on “time-domain astronomy” should be held at the American Astronomical Society for the January 2009 meeting.

• The importance to astronomy of these historic data should be brought to the attention of those conducting the next decadal survey and the astronomical community in general.

• Demonstrated uses of the plates in astronomical research is a priority in order to attract funding.

Astronomers tour one area of APDA. November 2007.

Current Status of the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive (APDA) at PARI

Access• Preliminary catalogues of the plates are available on line:

• Visits are encouraged. APDA has light tables, an iris photometer, and a high resolution scanner

• Requests for limited scanning of plates can be accommodated

• Move towards compatibility with NVO, SIMBAD

Research Conducted Using Plates from APDA- Open Cluster Project

> McGurk & Castelaz 2007 “The Dolidze 27 and Alessi 10 Open Star Clusters”

> Aubrey & Castelaz 2007 “Analysis of Open Star Clusters Collinder 394 and NGC 6645”

-Star Classification Project > Harnesses the power of the internet by allowing public participation in the classification of hundreds of thousands of stars. > Build a database of newly classified stars that can be combined with photometric, astrometric, and other spectroscopic databases for a more complete catalog of stellar types

Scanning a plate using the APDA 64-bit dual CPU 16 GB RAM computer and Microtek ScanMaker i800 transmission scanner. Images are stored on a 20 TB drive.

Stars in NGC 6645 from CTIO Blue Survey Objective Prism Plate

Stars in Dolidze 27 from CTIO Blue Objective Prism Plate

Access• Preliminary catalogues of the plates are available on line: • Visits are encouraged. APDA has light tables, an iris photometer, and a

high resolution scanner• Requests for limited scanning of plates can be accommodated• Move towards compatibility with NVO, SIMBAD

• Research Conducted Using Plates from APDA

Collections• CTIO plates: 4-m, Curtis Schmidt and miscellaneous slit spectra

from 1967- 1998

• Warner and Swasey plates: direct and objective prism plates from 1944 to 1992

• University of Michigan plates: slit spectra from 1911 to 1973

Storage Status• Plates in original envelopes and cabinets.

• Temperature (18 C) and humidity (35%) controlled climate with backup power.

• Essentially negligible chance of plate damage from natural disasters.

J.D. Cline1, M. W. Castelaz1,T. Barker1, E. Griffin2, W. Osborn3

1Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute; 2Dominion Astrophysical Observatory;3Central Michigan University

The Astronomical Photographic Data Archive

Not-for-profit public foundation

AAS 211th Meetingwww.pari.edu

Major Workshop Results and Next Steps for APDA

• Census of North American astronomical photographic plates will be carried out.

• PARI’s Astronomical Photographic Data Archive (APDA) will be developed as an astronomical photographic data repository.

• Special session on “time-domain astronomy” should be held at the American Astronomical Society for the January 2009 meeting.

• The importance to astronomy of these historic data should be brought to the attention of those conducting the next decadal survey and the astronomical community in general.

• In order to attract funding, a priority for will be to have some demonstrated uses of the plates in astronomical research.

Workshop on a National Plan for Preserving Astronomical Photographic Data

November 1-3, 2007 at PARI

Focus

• Document scientific and historical rationale for preserving astronomical photographic plate collections

• Evaluate the processes at APDA located at PARI

• Establish an operational plan to ensure the preservation of astronomical plate collections

Astronomers tour one area of APDA. November 2007.

Current Status of the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive (APDA) at PARI

Access• Preliminary catalogues of the plates are available on line:

• Visits are encouraged. APDA has light tables, an iris photometer, and a high resolution scanner

• Requests for limited scanning of plates can be accommodated

• Move towards compatibility with NVO, SIMBAD

Research Conducted Using Plates from APDA- Open Cluster Project

> McGurk & Castelaz 2007 “The Dolidze 27 and Alessi 10 Open Star Clusters”

> Aubrey & Castelaz 2007 “Analysis of Open Star Clusters Collinder 394 and NGC 6645”

-Star Classification Project > Harnesses the power of the internet by allowing public participation in the classification of hundreds of thousands of stars. > Build a database of newly classified stars that can be combined with photometric, astrometric, and other spectroscopic databases for a more complete catalog of stellar types

Scanning a plate using the APDA 64-bit dual CPU 16 GB RAM computer and Microtek ScanMaker i800 transmission scanner. Images are stored on a 20 TB drive.

Stars in NGC 6645 from CTIO Blue Survey Objective Prism Plate

Stars in Dolidze 27 from CTIO Blue Objective Prism Plate