Material originally produced during the mid-to-late 19th century and early 20th century by researchers at the Harvard College Observatory that had been stored in the HCO Astronomical Plate Stacks collection. These early notebooks represent the history of the Harvard College Observatory and are irreplaceable primary source documents that exemplify the evolution of observation methods and astronomy as a science. Join in to transcribe the work of Annie Jump Cannon, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin, and others.

In response to the re-discovery of this important collection, Wolbach Library staff worked with Lindsey Smith, Curator of Astronomical Photographs, to have the material transferred from the Plate Stacks’ holdings at Harvard Depository’s Records Management Department, to Wolbach’s shelves at the Depository so that the material could be cataloged, digitized, and preserved by services available to Wolbach through Harvard Library. The material will be subsequently transcribed by the Smithsonian Transcription Center in DC and be searchable in both HOLLIS (Harvard’s catalog) and the NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS). This digitization and indexing effort is called Project PHAEDRA, or Preserving Harvard's Early Data and Research in Astronomy

 

Learn more about the Wolbach Library's goals with Project PHAEDRA or explore the finding aid for the Harvard College Observatory observations, logs, instrument readings, and calculations via Harvard Library Online Archival Search Information System.

 

Our Transcription & Review Process

 

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Transcribing the Women Computers Workbooks

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These projects include the calculations and work of these researchers. Please see the following instructions to guide your transcription.

 

Basic Transcription Instructions

As you get started with transcribing these workbooks, you may want to visit our Basic Transcription Instructions, including tips for Review.

 

Tables and Cells

To demarcate between cells in table, use a vertical bar/pipe (|). Use this only to mark transitions left-to-right. No special mark is necessary for line breaks or new rows. Please include empty cells where appropriate, but do not feel the need to add empty rows. To transcribe empty cells, separate the pipes with 3 spaces. For example:

 

O^[[h]] | O^[[m]] | +000108 [[?]] | +03559 | .03748 | +.00132 | +00000 | +.03823 | +.0401

| 5 |   |   | 38555.00107 | 138 |   |   | 4131.0029

 

Images

When you see a sketch or picture on the page, please use the word “image” placed in double brackets: [[image]]. Please do not describe the image at this time. These will be collected after the transcription is complete, and will be processed by scientists and historians of astronomy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphs and Star Plots

When you encounter a graph or data visualization, please tag it with [[graph]]. Take care to distinguish between graphs (Fig. 3) and star plots (Fig. 4), which you would tag as an image. Please record all text attached, adjacent, or ancillary to the graph as you would any other text on the page.

 

Figure 3: Graph

 

Figure 4: Star Plots

 

Sub- and Superscript Notes

If you see handwritten notes inserted above, below, or adjacent to a line of text, please insert them into the transcription box using a ^ and double brackets [[ ]] to contain the inserted text.

For the following example (Fig. 5): “Sept 6/7 1858 ^[[This is comet VII 1858. Comet VI]] H.P. Tuttle’s…”.

Figure 5: Superscript Example

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equations

If you come across an equation (Fig. 6), record it with the tag [[equation]].

[[equation]]

Figure 6: Equation Example

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underline and Strikeout

Please write strikethrough or underlined, when appropriate, in double brackets before and after the word or phrase that has been struck out or underlined. Remember to close the tags with a forward slash (/).

Like this (Fig. 7):

[[strikethrough]] 4538.4 [[/strikethrough]] 1 | 4538.4

 

 

 

 

 

Symbols in Text

If you encounter a symbol in place of a word in text, mark it with the tag [[symbol]] and, if possible, include the word that the symbol replaces. For example (Fig. 8):

Search for Tuttle’s [[symbol – comet]] by T.W. but it was too near [[symbol – moon]]

Figure 8: Symbols in Text Example

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greek Letters

Volunteers should transcribe the Latin name that corresponds to the Greek letter. For example (Fig 9):

Br. edge to H gamma [[superscript]] 1 [[superscript]]

 

Figure 9: Greek Letter Example

You can refer to this chart if you are uncertain which letter is being used (Greek Alphabet, CC-by-SA license from Ben Crowder).

Tell Us More!

Should you discover any connections--people, such as other astronomers, or events--in these projects, let us know. Additional contextual and historical information helps to improve our collections even more.

You can also join the conversation on Twitter with @TranscribeSI and @ProjectPhaedra.

 

Other Questions?

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