Computing at ESO Through the Ages
In this historical image, taken in 1974 in the ESO offices in Santiago, Chile, we can see the Austrian astronomer Rudi Albrecht, pencil in hand, poring over code in front of a teletype. He was working on software for the Spectrum Scanner attached to the ESO 1-metre telescope located at the La Silla Observatory. The data were processed in Santiago using the Hewlett Packard 2116 minicomputer which can be seen behind the printer. This bulky computer, with one processor and a breathtaking 16 kilobytes of magnetic-core memory (!), stored the results on magnetic tape, ready for further processing by visiting astronomers on computers at their home institutes. To handle files on tape that were larger than the available memory, Albrecht developed a virtual memory system, which he contributed to the Hewlett Packard Software Center.
Credit:
ESO
About the Image
| Id: | potw1223a |
| Type: | Photographic |
| Release date: | 4 June 2012, 10:00 |
| Size: | 5598 x 3744 px |
About the Object
| Name: | European Southern Observatory, Historical photographs |
| Type: | • Unspecified : People : Scientist • People and Events • About ESO |
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