Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
The lab that produced the first-ever image of a black hole sits right on the Harvard campus.
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Since 1973 this joint Harvard–Smithsonian operation has housed more than 850 scientists, engineers, and support staff behind Nobel Prize-winning cosmology work, the discovery of many exoplanets, and the black hole image seen around the world. It also co-runs the Chandra X-ray Observatory, one of NASA's Great Observatories, and operates the Astrophysics Data System — the planet's universal database of astronomy papers.
What to look for
- The shared complex on the Harvard campus that physically merges the Harvard College Observatory and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory under one roof
- Any reference to the Chandra X-ray Observatory, a NASA Great Observatory the CfA helps operate across the electromagnetic spectrum
- Mention of the Astrophysics Data System (ADS), the globally adopted online database of astronomy and physics papers
On the Harvard campus in Cambridge, MA — primarily a working research institute, not a public museum; check for open lectures or education events before making the trip.
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is one of 31 sights worth the detour in Boston, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Boston pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Boston
- Museum of Fine Arts BostonFour hundred and fifty thousand works of art under one roof — one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas.
- TD GardenThe subway stops underneath it — TD Garden is built directly above MBTA's North Station, so you step off the train and you are already at the door.
- Harvard College ObservatoryOn the night of July 16-17, 1850, astronomers here made the first daguerreotype of a star — Vega — through a telescope that was the largest in North America.
- Fenway ParkThe oldest active ballpark in MLB, where a cramped city block accidentally invented some of baseball's most famous features.
- Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIn 1990, thieves walked out with thirteen works worth $500 million — none have ever come back, and the case is still open.
- Boston Public LibraryJohn Adams' personal 3,800-volume library lives here — and any Massachusetts adult can walk in and access it.