Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Encyclopedia
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
, earth
Earth science
Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
and space science
Space science
The term space science may mean:* The study of issues specifically related to space travel and space exploration, including space medicine.* Science performed in outer space ....
s, and science education
Science education
Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. The target individuals may be children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education comprises...
. The center's mission is to advance knowledge and understanding of the universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
through research and education in astronomy and astrophysics.
The center was founded in 1973 as a joint venture between the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. It consists of the Harvard College Observatory
Harvard College Observatory
The Harvard College Observatory is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomical research by the Harvard University Department of Astronomy. It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and was founded in 1839...
and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is a research institute of the Smithsonian Institution headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it is joined with the Harvard College Observatory to form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics .-History:The SAO was founded in 1890 by...
. The center's main facility is located between Concord Avenue and Garden Street, with its mailing address and main entrance at 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. Beyond this location there are also additional satellite facilities elsewhere around the globe. The current director of the CfA, Charles R. Alcock
Charles R. Alcock
Charles Roger Alcock is a British born American astronomer. He is the current director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
, was named in 2004. The director from 1982 to 2004 was Irwin I. Shapiro
Irwin I. Shapiro
Irwin I. Shapiro is an American astrophysicist. Since 1982, he has been a professor at Harvard University. Shapiro was director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics from 1982 to 2004.- Biography :Irwin Shapiro was born in New York City in 1929...
.
Ground-based observatories
- Fred Lawrence Whipple ObservatoryFred Lawrence Whipple ObservatoryThe Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and is their largest field installation outside of their main site in Cambridge, MA...
- Magellan telescopesMagellan telescopesThe Magellan Telescopes are a pair of 6.5 m diameter optical telescopes located at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. The two telescopes are named after the astronomer Walter Baade and the philanthropist Landon T...
- MMT ObservatoryMMT ObservatoryThe MMT Observatory is an astronomical observatory on the site of Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory . The Whipple observatory complex is located on Mount Hopkins, Arizona, USA in the Santa Rita Mountains...
- South Pole TelescopeSouth Pole TelescopeThe South Pole Telescope is a 10 metre diameter telescope located at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica. It is a microwave/millimetre-wave telescope that observes in a frequency range between 70 and 300 GHz...
- Submillimeter ArraySubmillimeter ArrayThe Submillimeter Array consists of eight diameter radio telescopes arranged as an interferometer for submillimeter wavelength observations. It is the first purpose-built submillimeter interferometer, constructed after successful interferometry experiments using the pre-existing James Clerk...
- 1.2-Meter Millimeter-Wave TelescopeCfA 1.2 m Millimeter-Wave TelescopeThe 1.2 meter Millimeter-Wave Telescope at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and its twin instrument at CTIO in Chile have been studying the distribution and properties of molecular clouds in our Galaxy and its nearest neighbours for over 20 years.-External links:* on the internet...
- Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS)VERITASVERITAS is a major ground-based gamma-ray observatory with an array of four 12m optical reflectors for gamma-ray astronomy in the GeV - TeV energy range. The telescope design is based on the design of the existing 10m gamma-ray telescope of the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory...
Space-based observatories
- Chandra X-ray ObservatoryChandra X-ray ObservatoryThe Chandra X-ray Observatory is a satellite launched on STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. It was named in honor of Indian-American physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar who is known for determining the maximum mass for white dwarfs. "Chandra" also means "moon" or "luminous" in Sanskrit.Chandra...
- HinodeHinodeHinode , formerly Solar-B, is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Solar mission with United States and United Kingdom collaboration. It is the follow-up to the Yohkoh mission and it was launched on the final flight of the M-V-7 rocket from Uchinoura Space Center, Japan on 22 September 2006 at...
- KeplerKepler MissionThe Kepler spacecraft is an American space observatory, the space-based portion of NASA's Kepler Mission to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. The spacecraft is named in honor of the 17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler...
- Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)Solar Dynamics ObservatoryThe Solar Dynamics Observatory is a NASA mission which will observe the Sun for over five years. Launched on February 11, 2010, the observatory is part of the Living With a Star program...
- Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
- Spitzer Space TelescopeSpitzer Space TelescopeThe Spitzer Space Telescope , formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility is an infrared space observatory launched in 2003...
Future plans
- Giant Magellan TelescopeGiant Magellan TelescopeThe Giant Magellan Telescope is a ground-based extremely large telescope planned for completion in 2018. It will consist of seven diameter primary segments, with the resolving power of a primary mirror and collecting area equivalent to one...
- Murchison Widefield ArrayMurchison Widefield ArrayThe Murchison Widefield Array is a joint project between MIT, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Raman Research Institute and an Australian consortium of universities, to build a low-frequency radio array operating in the frequency range 80-300 MHz...
- Square Kilometer Array
- Pan-STARRSPan-STARRSThe Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System is a planned array of astronomical cameras and telescopes and computing facility that will survey the sky on a continual basis, including accurate astrometry and photometry of detected objects...
- Large Synoptic Survey TelescopeLarge Synoptic Survey TelescopeThe Large Synoptic Survey Telescope is a planned wide-field "survey" reflecting telescope that will photograph the available sky every three nights. The LSST is currently in its design and development phase and will achieve engineering first light four years after construction starts...
- Constellation-X Observatory
Directors
- George B. FieldGeorge B. FieldGeorge B. Field is an American astrophysicist.- Education and career :Field became interested in astronomy at an early age, but at the urging of his father he studied chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Disliking engineering, he later switched to astrophysics...
: 1973–1982 - Irwin I. ShapiroIrwin I. ShapiroIrwin I. Shapiro is an American astrophysicist. Since 1982, he has been a professor at Harvard University. Shapiro was director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics from 1982 to 2004.- Biography :Irwin Shapiro was born in New York City in 1929...
: 1982–2004 - Charles R. AlcockCharles R. AlcockCharles Roger Alcock is a British born American astronomer. He is the current director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
: 2004–Present
Funding sources
In FY2010, expenditures by funding source were as follows:- NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
: 70% - SmithsonianSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
federal funds: 22% - National Science FoundationNational Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
: 4% - United States Department of EnergyUnited States Department of EnergyThe United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
: 1% - Annenberg FoundationAnnenberg FoundationThe Annenberg Foundation is a private foundation that provides funding and support to non-profit organizations in the United States and around the world...
: 1% - Gifts and endowments: 1%
- Other: 1%