EAGER: Capturing the Stars: Exploring Digitization of Photographic Glass Plates for Scientific Analysis

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The historic Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay Wisconsin has contributed to research and education in astronomy and astrophysics since 1897. The Observatory has over 170,000 astronomical glass photographic plates and observational logbooks which are important both historically and for research, but which are largely inaccessible due to their present geographical location and their rather fragile state. This project will research, analyze and develop both methods and procedures to use financially accessible equipment to digitize the glass plates. It will also work out how to transcribe complex data from the logbooks, and evaluate how best to make all of the plate images and meta-data records accessible and usable by researchers and historians worldwide. The project includes collaboration between librarians and astronomers and provides paid research opportunities to undergraduates. It will facilitate scientific and historical research, and create openly accessible data that will be a source for astronomy education and outreach. By creating scalable and cost-effective practices for digitization of astronomical glass plate collections, this work will help to protect and preserve unique and irreplaceable observational archives. These data will be a most valuable contribution to time domain astronomy, and add a wealth of primary source information to the history of astronomy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.