Lick Plates README

Background
Edward Emerson Barnard was a prolific observer and a pioneer in the field of 
astrophotography.  He perfected the art of taking high-quality photographs of 
astronomical objects on glass plates while at Lick Observatory 1887 - 1895, and 
continued this work after joining the Yerkes Observatory staff in 1895 until 
his death in 1922.  On moving to Yerkes, Barnard made high-quality copies of 
the plates he took at Lick that he considered of most interest. 

Someone in the mid-1930s, probably Barnard’s niece and frequent assistant Mary 
Calvert, prepared a catalogue of Barnard’s plates as well as of several other 
plate series held by the Yerkes observatory at that time.  This catalog is known 
as the “Barnard Logbook.” It contains nine sections giving the information on the 
plates in a number of plate series.  The sections are:
  I. MILKY WAY, MOON, etc -- with the Bruce Photographic Telescope 1904 - 1922. 
     [Series B10, B6, B3, etc]. Pages 1-85. Additional plates added on pages 98d-98m.
  Ia. MILKY WAY, etc.  Positives and 2nd negatives of photographs made with the 
     Willard lens of the Lick Observatory 1892 - 1895 (original negatives at Lick 
     Observatory).  [Series L]. Pages 90-97. Additional plates 98a-98c.
  II. CLUSTERS, NEBULAE, etc. -- made with the 40-inch refractor, with color filters, 
     1900-1922. [Series F].  Pages 104-119.
  III. PLANETS, etc. - made with the 40-inch refractor. using an enlarging lens and 
     color filter, 1905-1910. [Series FP]. Pages 124-127. Additional plates 182-183
  IV. PLANETS, CLUSTERS, NEBULAE, etc. -- made with the 60-inch reflector of the 
     Mount Wilson Observatory, November 1911 [Series 60-PN]. Pages 131-133
  V. COMETS -- made with the Bruce Photographic telescope, etc., 1900-1922. [Series C]. 
     Page 138-165.  Additional plates 176-177.
  Va. COMETS -- Positives and 2nd negatives of photographs made with the Willard lens 
     of the Lick Observatory 1889 - 1894 (original negatives at Lick Observatory). 
     [Series LC]. Pages 170-172.
  VI. CLUSTERS, NEBULAE, etc. -- made with the 40-inch refractor, with color filter, 
     by G.W.Ritchey in 1900 and 1901. [Series F Ry].  pages 98r-98t.
  VII. HALLEY’S COMET -- photographs by j. C. Duncon [Series HD].  Pages 174-175.
  VIII. Photographs made by F.R. Sullivan, with a 6-inch lens attached to the 40-inch 
     tube during exposures for spec. [Series S].  Page 178-180

The remainder of this README file refers to the plates in Sections Ia and Va, that 
is the Lick star field, moon and planet plates (called the L series) and the Lick 
comet plates (called the LC series).

Telescopes
Most of Barnard’s Lick plates were taken with the “Willard Portrait Lens” (see 
Barnard, Publications Lick Observatory, vol 11, 1913, page 12). Its characteristics 
are: 6-in (15-cm) aperture and 30.66-in (77.9-cm) focal length giving a scale of 
265”/mm (1.8 degrees per inch).  Other lenses mentioned in the Lick logbook entries 
or in publications about his Lick plates include: Small lantern lens, Dallmeyer lens, 
Voightlander lens, Crossley reflector (one plate)

The observatory location was: longitude = 121° 38.5’ W, latitude = 37° 20.5’ N.

Plates and Plate Series
The catalog contains plates taken 1889 - 1895 with one additional plate from 
1899. We have chosen to combine the L and LC series. These plates are copies of 
the original plates, which Barnard returned to Lick Observatory.  The copies were 
made by first producing a positive image from the original negative and then 
making a second negative from the positive.  The second negatives more closely 
resemble typical astronomical photographs.  Barnard published many copies of his 
Lick plates, particularly in Publications Lick Observatory, vol 11 (1913).
 
The Logbook
The Barnard Logbook is at the University of Chicago. The entire book has been 
scanned and is available on-line. However, the book contained a number of inserted 
notes and these were also scanned which somewhat confuses browsing the entries.

The Searchable files
There are two csv files that can be viewed or downloaded to search for plates of 
interest.  The “Lick-Full.csv” file lists the plates by date. The “Lick-By-Dec.csv” 
file is the Full CSV file sorted by decreasing declination which allows a quicker 
way to see if the collection contains plates of interest.  A “Lick-Additional-
Notes.csv” file provides any detailed notes on a plate from the logbook that were 
too extensive to be included in the notes column of the Full.CSV file. Any cell in 
a csv file that is blank indicates there is no information available or it has yet 
to be calculated (for example, a time of mid-exposure when the start time and end 
time are known).

Description of the columns of the csv files
Record number - Record number in the catalog
Plate series - L or LC
Plate number - Identifying number of the plate
Date - The date the plate was exposed as recorded.  Some plates were taken on 
  two nights.
Object - The target field or object of the exposure  
RA - Right ascension of the plate center (equinox as recorded, often 1855) 
Dec - Declination of the plate center (equinox as recorded, often 1855) 
Length of exposure -  Exposure length (in minutes unless otherwise noted)
Exposure Start - Start time of the exposure as recorded 
Exposure Mid - Mid-time of the exposure (if recorded or calculated)
Exposure End - End time of the exposure (when recorded)
Time type -  Type of time used when recorded. PST can be assumed if blank. Sid = 
   local sidereal time.
Emulsion + Filter - Emulsion type and filter used (no filters were used)
Plate dimensions - Physical size of the plate, in inches.  
Observer - Observer when recorded. E.E. Barnard can be assumed if no entry
Location -  Location of plate when this catalogue was prepared: Yerkes, Univ.
  of Chicago.  Blank indicates that plate not in vault.  X indicates plate has 
  been discarded
Notes - Notes recorded in the log book.  Longer notes are in the Additional 
  Notes file which includes a code for the camera lenses used.

File prepared:  2022 October 12