The Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) is an official international clearing house for information relating to transient astronomical events. The CBAT collects and distributes information on

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...

natural satellites A natural satellite is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite). Natural satellites are colloquially referred to as moons, a deriv ...

, novae, meteors, and other transient astronomical events. The CBAT has historically established priority of discovery (who gets credit for it) and announced initial designations and names of new objects. On behalf of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

(IAU) from 1920 to 2015, the CBAT distributed '' IAU Circulars''. From the 1920s to 1992, CBAT sent telegrams in urgent cases, although most circulars were sent via regular

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

; when telegrams were dropped, the name "telegram" was kept for historical reasons, and the ''Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams'' (CBETs) were begun a decade later as a digital-only expanded version of the IAUCs, still issued by e-mail to subscribers and posted at the CBAT website. Since the mid-1980s the ''IAU Circulars'' and the related ''

Minor Planet Circulars The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Functio ...

'' have been available electronically. The CBAT is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

, but charges for its ''IAU Circulars'' and electronic telegrams to finance its continued operation.

History

The Central Bureau was founded by Astronomische Gesellschaft in 1882 at

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, Germany. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

it was moved to the Østervold Observatory at

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, to be operated there by the Copenhagen University Observatory. In 1922, the IAU made the Central Bureau its official ''Bureau Central des Télégrammes Astronomiques'' (French for Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams), and it remained in Copenhagen until 1965, when it moved to the

Harvard College Observatory The Harvard College Observatory (HCO) 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, United St ...

, to be operated there by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory on the Harvard University campus. In 2010, the CBAT moved from SAO to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. It has remained in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

to this day. The HCO had maintained a western-hemisphere Central Bureau from 1883 until the IAU's CBAT moved there at the end of 1964, so logically the HCO staff took over the IAU's Bureau.

References

External links

IAU: Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
homepage
The Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams: A Case Study in Astronomical Internationalism
{{Authority control Astronomy organizations Organizations established in 1882 1882 establishments in Germany

History

See also

References

External links