Productivity and impact of large optical telescopes

Abstract

An attempt is made to provide quantitative measures of the amount of data gathered at large optical telescopes throughout the world and the impact these data have on astronomical research. The data base comprises 1163 papers reporting data from 39 telescopes, published between January 1990 and June 1991, and 4052 citations to them in 1993. Productivity measured in papers per square meter of telescope mirror varies by a factor of six, and impact measured in citations per paper varies by a factor of more than 10. Predictably, high productivity and high impact are associated with telescopes located at good sites and fully supported for many years by organizations with large budgets. Low productivity and low impact are associated with less favorable locations, short periods of operation, and financial stringency. In addition, the most productive telescopes seem to be ones whose users include astronomers from a wide range of geographical locations.