Issues and Challenges in the Protection of Different Categories of Astronomical Heritage: A Report from Beijing 2012

Abstract

On the occasion of the IAU’s General Assembly in Beijing in 2012,
the Working Groups for Astronomy and World Heritage (WG-AWH) and
Historical Instruments (WG-HI) of Commission 41 (History of
Astronomy)—led by Clive Ruggles and Sara Schechner—held a
joint science meeting concerning shared issues in the
“Conservation and Protection of Different Categories of
Astronomical Heritage.” Since 2008, the WG-AWH had been working
with UNESCO and its advisory bodies to identify and safeguard
significant astronomical sites and assist in their eventual nomination
for inclusion on the World Heritage List. That initiative was restricted
to fixed sites and monuments. Moveable, tangible objects, such as
scientific instruments, could not be included even though their
significance was often interconnected with that of immovable sites. To
address this concern, the 2012 joint science meeting convened
international experts in the history, scientific, and cultural value of
astronomical buildings, instruments, photographic plates, archives, and
meteorites in order to discuss ways to develop and coordinate integrated
approaches to the documentation and protection of these valuable things.
A wide range of materials was discussed. It was evident that the
historical, scientific, and cultural value assigned to any particular
item might differ from one community to the next, and that the question
of whom or what ultimately will determine how any heritage item is
treated is complex, political, and negotiated. An important point of
agreement was the idea of developing a “science heritage”
(rather than “architectural heritage”) approach in which the
value is enhanced (rather than diminished) by changes to a facility that
could lead to further scientific discoveries. It was hoped that such an
approach would make observatory directors and others more comfortable
with outside recognition of the heritage value of their working
institutions.