Recently, the National Astronomical Data Center (NADC) announced the results of its 2024 Outstanding Data Resources selection, with the "Digitized Astronomical Plates of China: Images and Astrometric Catalogs" submitted by the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) plate digitization team successfully making the list.

Since 2012, with strong support from the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Key Program for Basic Science and Technology Work, the Shanghai Plate Digitization Team has initiated the digitization and archival of domestic astronomical plates, ultimately completing the digitization of 29,314 plates. The research team performed astrometric calibration on the digitized plates using the Gaia DR2 catalog, converting the initial digital plate data into standardized FITS-format astronomical images to meet the research needs of professional astronomers.

The selected "Digitized Astronomical Plates of China: Images and Astrometric Catalogs" includes 15,696 single-exposure digitized astronomical plate images and their corresponding astrometric results. These data cover observations from nine telescopes at five observatories—the National Astronomical Observatories (formerly Beijing Astronomical Observatory), Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Purple Mountain Observatory, Yunnan Observatories, and Qingdao Observatory—spanning the period from 1901 to 1998.

This achievement by SHAO’s plate digitization team not only ensures the permanent preservation and inheritance of China’s invaluable astronomical observation heritage but also provides critical data support for long-term time-domain astronomy research. Currently, the team is fully engaged in photometric processing of astronomical plates and the handling of multiple-exposure plate data, continuing to contribute to astronomical research both in China and globally.

National Astronomical Data Center: https://nadc.china-vo.org/?locale=en

Contact: YANG Meiting ymt@shao.ac.cn