Photo: UHH/MIN/Fuchs A view of the cupboard holding the photographic plates at the Hamburg Observatory-- in the foreground a photographic plate from 1913.
Photo: UHH/MIN/Fuchs A view of the cupboard holding the photographic plates at the Hamburg Observatory- in the foreground a photographic plate from 1913. Ten years ago, researchers at Universität Hamburg jointly initiated a research alliance to digitalize astronomical photographic plates in high resolution, publish these online, and make them available for current research. Now, 121,860 scans and 94,090 photographic plates later, The archives of the participating observatories hold countless photographic plates with astronomical footage, some dating back more than 130 years. In addition to their cultural and historical value, these plates are a veritable treasure trove for current research; the plates, and especially the plate series, show the movement or development of stellar brightness, in some cases over the course of decades. Phenomena not yet scientifically understood at the time were observed over long periods and can now be studied. When today a star becomes a nova or even a supernova, we can refer to the archives to see how the star behaved decades before. The sky is literally the limit when it comes to the scientific use of these plates.
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