Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Coordinates: 42°22′53″N 71°07′42″W / 42.38146°N 71.12837°W / 42.38146; -71.12837
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"CfA" redirects here. For the fast food chain, see Chick-fil-A. For other uses, see CFA.
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Headquarters60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Director
Lisa Kewley
Staff
850+
Websitewww.cfa.harvard.edu
Formerly called
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), previously known as the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, is an

ground- and space-based astronomical research observatories across the electromagnetic spectrum, including the forthcoming Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, one of NASA's Great Observatories
.

Hosting more than 850 scientists, engineers, and support staff, the CfA is among the largest astronomical research institutes in the world.[1] Its projects have included Nobel Prize-winning advances in cosmology and high energy astrophysics, the discovery of many exoplanets, and the first image of a black hole. The CfA also serves a major role in the global astrophysics research community: the CfA's Astrophysics Data System (ADS), for example, has been universally adopted[2] as the world's online database of astronomy and physics papers. Known for most of its history as the "Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics", the CfA rebranded in 2018 to its current name in an effort to reflect its unique status as a joint collaboration between Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution. The CfA's current director (since 2022) is Lisa Kewley, who succeeds Charles R. Alcock (Director from 2004 to 2022), Irwin I. Shapiro (Director from 1982 to 2004) and George B. Field (Director from 1973 to 1982).

History of the CfA

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is not formally an independent legal organization, but rather an institutional entity operated under a memorandum of understanding between Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution. This collaboration was formalized on July 1, 1973, with the goal of coordinating the related research activities of the Harvard College Observatory (HCO) and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) under the leadership of a single director, and housed within the same complex of buildings on the Harvard campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The CfA's history is therefore also that of the two fully independent organizations that comprise it. With a combined history of more than 300 years, HCO and SAO have been host to major milestones in astronomical history that predate the CfA's founding. These are briefly summarized below.

History of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO)

Main article: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

Secretary of the Smithsonian, founded the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory on the south yard of the Smithsonian Castle (on the U.S. National Mall) on March 1, 1890. The Astrophysical Observatory's initial, primary purpose was to "record the amount and character of the Sun's heat".[3] Charles Greeley Abbot was named SAO's first director, and the observatory operated solar telescopes to take daily measurements of the Sun's intensity in different regions of the optical electromagnetic spectrum. In doing so, the observatory enabled Abbot to make critical refinements to the Solar constant, as well as to serendipitously discover Solar variability. It is likely that SAO's early history as a solar observatory was part of the inspiration behind the Smithsonian's "sunburst" logo, designed in 1965 by Crimilda Pontes.[4]

In 1955, the scientific headquarters of SAO moved from Washington, D.C. to

Project Space Track
.

With the creation of

theoretical astrophysics, as well as the application of computers
to astrophysical problems.

History of Harvard College Observatory (HCO)

Main article: Harvard College Observatory
The Harvard College Observatory, circa 1899. Harvard Square and the City of Boston are in the distant background. Most of the telescope domes in the foreground are no longer standing, but the largest dome in the top right of the photo, housing the 1847 "Great Refractor", still remains. The Great Refractor was the largest telescope in the United States until 1867. It was the first telescope to take a photographic image of the Moon.
The Harvard College Observatory "Computers" standing in front of Building C at Harvard College Observatory, May 13, 1913. The Center for Astrophysics exists at this same location today. Back row (L to R): Margaret Harwood (far left), Mollie O'Reilly, Edward C. Pickering, Edith Gill, Annie Jump Cannon, Evelyn Leland (behind Cannon), Florence Cushman, Marion Whyte (behind Cushman), Grace Brooks. Front row: Arville Walker, unknown (possibly Johanna Mackie), Alta Carpenter, Mabel Gill, Ida Woods.

Partly in response to renewed public interest in astronomy following the 1835 return of

largest in the United States from 1847 until 1867. William Bond and pioneer photographer John Adams Whipple used the Great Refractor to produce the first clear Daguerrotypes of the Moon (winning them an award at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London). Bond and his son, George Phillips Bond (the second director of HCO), used it to discover Saturn's 8th moon, Hyperion (which was also independently discovered by William Lassell
).

Under the directorship of

Leavitt's law", the discovery is regarded as one of the most foundational and important in the history of astronomy; astronomers like Edwin Hubble, for example, would later use Leavitt's law to establish that the Universe is expanding, the primary piece of evidence for the Big Bang model
.

Upon Pickering's retirement in 1921, the directorship of HCO fell to

stars were composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, an idea thought ridiculous at the time.[11] Between Shapley's tenure and the formation of the CfA, the observatory was directed by Donald H. Menzel and then Leo Goldberg
, both of whom maintained widely recognized programs in solar and stellar astrophysics. Menzel played a major role in encouraging the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory to move to Cambridge and collaborate more closely with HCO.

Joint history as the Center for Astrophysics (CfA)

The collaborative foundation for what would ultimately give rise to the Center for Astrophysics began with SAO's move to Cambridge in 1955. Fred Whipple, who was already chair of the Harvard Astronomy Department (housed within HCO since 1931[12]), was named SAO's new director at the start of this new era; an early test of the model for a unified directorship across HCO and SAO. The following 18 years would see the two independent entities merge ever closer together, operating effectively (but informally) as one large research center.

This joint relationship was formalized as the new Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics on July 1, 1973.

NASA's Great Observatories and still the most powerful X-ray telescope in history, continues operations today as part of the CfA's Chandra X-ray Center. Giacconi would later win the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics
for his foundational work in X-ray astronomy.

Shortly after the launch of the

large scale structure of the Universe), as well as the release of the "Field Report", a highly influential Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey chaired by the outgoing CfA Director George Field. He would be replaced in 1982 by Irwin Shapiro, who during his tenure as director (1982 to 2004) oversaw the expansion of the CfA's observing facilities around the world, including the newly named Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, the Infrared Telescope (IRT) aboard the Space Shuttle, the 6.5-meter Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT), the SOHO satellite, and the launch of Chandra in 1999. CfA-led discoveries throughout this period include canonical work on Supernova 1987A, the "CfA2 Great Wall" (then the largest known coherent structure in the Universe), the best-yet evidence for supermassive black holes, and the first convincing evidence for an extrasolar planet.[14]

The 1980s also saw the CfA play a distinct role in the history of

research papers.[2] By 1993, the ADS was running the first routine transatlantic queries between databases, a foundational aspect of the internet today.[2]

The CfA today

M87*), captured by the Event Horizon Telescope. The CfA plays a central role in the project.[15]

Research at the CfA

Charles Alcock, known for a number of major works related to massive compact halo objects, was named the third director of the CfA in 2004. Today Alcock oversees one of the largest and most productive astronomical institutes in the world,[1] with more than 850 staff and an annual budget in excess of $100 million. The Harvard Department of Astronomy, housed within the CfA, maintains a continual complement of approximately 60 PhD students, more than 100 postdoctoral researchers, and roughly 25 undergraduate astronomy and astrophysics majors from Harvard College. SAO, meanwhile, hosts a long-running and highly rated REU Summer Intern program as well as many visiting graduate students. The CfA estimates that roughly 10% of the professional astrophysics community in the United States spent at least a portion of their career or education there.[16]

The CfA is either a lead or major partner in the operations of the

ground-based telescopes. The CfA's 2019–2024 Strategic Plan includes the construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope
as a driving priority for the center.

Along with the

X-ray observatory
constructed to date, enabling order-of-magnitude advances in capability over Chandra.

SAO is one of the 13 stakeholder institutes for the

theoretical astrophysics. Union of the observational and theoretical subfields of astrophysics has been a major focus of the CfA since its founding.[13]

In 2018, the CfA rebranded, changing its official name to the "Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian" in an effort to reflect its unique status as a joint collaboration between Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution. Today, the CfA receives roughly 70% of its funding from NASA, 22% from Smithsonian federal funds, and 4% from the National Science Foundation. The remaining 4% comes from contributors including the United States Department of Energy, the Annenberg Foundation, as well as other gifts and endowments.[16]

Organizational structure

Research across the CfA is organized into six divisions and seven research centers:

Scientific divisions within the CfA

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics (AMP)
  • High Energy Astrophysics (HEA)
  • Optical and Infrared Astronomy (OIR)
  • Radio and Geoastronomy (RG)
  • Solar, Stellar, and Planetary Sciences (SSP)
  • Theoretical Astrophysics (TA)

Centers hosted at the CfA

  • Chandra X-ray Center (CXC), the science operations center for NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
  • Institute for Theory and Computation (ITC)
  • Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics (ITAMP)
  • Center for Parallel Astrophysical Computing (CPAC)
  • Minor Planet Center (MPC)
  • Telescope Data Center (TDC)
  • Radio Telescope Data Center (RTDC)
  • Solar & Stellar X-ray Group (SSXG)

The CfA is also host to the Harvard University Department of Astronomy, large central engineering and computation facilities, the Science Education Department, the John G. Wolbach Library, the world's largest database of astronomy and physics papers (ADS), and the world's largest collection of astronomical photographic plates.

Observatories operated with CfA participation

Ground-based observatories

Space-based observatories and probes

Planned future observatories

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA)". www.natureindex.com. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  2. ^
    ISSN 0365-0138
    .
  3. ^ a b DeVorkin, David H. (2018). Fred Whipple's Empire: The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 1955–1973. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.
  4. ^ Anonymous (March 24, 2020). "Crimilda Pontes: The Original Designer of the Smithsonian Sunburst". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  5. ISBN 978-1-137-50787-7. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )
  6. ^
    Bibcode:1937PA.....45..523M
    .
  7. ^ "Dana-Palmer House | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Popular Science Monthly. MBLWHOI Library. New York, Popular Science Pub. Co., etc. 1903–1904.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. OCLC 952469237.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  10. Bibcode:1912HarCi.173....1L
    .
  11. OCLC 33281965.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
  12. ^ "History". astronomy.fas.harvard.edu. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Highlights of CfA's First Quarter Century of Research". www.cfa.harvard.edu/. February 5, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  14. S2CID 4324036
    .
  15. ^ "CfA Plays Central Role In Capturing Landmark Black Hole Image". www.cfa.harvard.edu/. April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  16. ^ a b "www.cfa.harvard.edu/". www.cfa.harvard.edu/. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  17. ISSN 2041-8213
    .

External links

42°22′53″N 71°07′42″W / 42.38146°N 71.12837°W / 42.38146; -71.12837

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