We are preserving all of the raw scans, and the plates will be preserved, too. Our scans resolve the photographic grains, going well beyond the actual resolution of objects in the sky. We are also saving a few more bits of intensity than are found in the photographs. This is a pretty good time to be creating this archive, not just because the scanning technology is mature and storage technology is tracking our needs. There is also a greater interest in the astrophysics of temporal variations in anticipation of the PanSTARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System) and LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) projects which the Harvard plates complement into the past.
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We are preserving all of the raw scans, and the plates will be preserved, too. Our scans resolve the photographic grains, going well beyond the actual resolution of objects in the sky. We are also saving a few more bits of intensity than are
found in the photographs. This is a pretty good time to be creating this archive, not just because the scanning technology is mature and storage technology is tracking our needs. There is also a greater interest in the astrophysics of temporal variations in anticipation of the PanSTARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System) and LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope) projects which the Harvard plates complement into the past.