La Plata Astronomical Observatory
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The La Plata Astronomical Observatory (in Spanish, Observatorio Astronómico de La Plata) is an observatory located in the city of La Plata, capital of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its IAU code is 839.
La Plata was a planned city, intended to become the capital of the province after the city of Buenos Aires became the Argentina's Federal Capital. The construction of the Observatory was scheduled in a decree passed by La Plata's founder and then-governor of Buenos Aires, Dardo Rocha, on 7 May 1881. In this decree the Engineering Department was ordered to set up plans and a budget for several public buildings, including an astronomical observatory.
The construction of the Observatory was initiated in November 1883, one year after the Paris Astronomical Observatory sent astronomical instruments to the city of Bragado, Buenos Aires, to observe a transit of Venus in front of the Sun, for which the location was particularly suitable, and which raised considerable interest in scientific circles.
The first director of the new institution was Francisco Beuf (lieutenant of the French Army and director of the Naval Observatory of Toulon).
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