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| Alternative names | Observatorio Astronomico La Plata |
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| Observatory code | 839 |
| Location | La Plata,Argentina |
| Coordinates | 34°54′30″S57°55′58″W / 34.90847°S 57.93272°W /-34.90847; -57.93272 |
| Altitude | 16 m |
| Established | 1883; 142 years ago (1883) |
| Website | turismolaplata/observatorio |
| Architect | Pedro Benoit |
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TheLa Plata Astronomical Observatory (Spanish:Observatorio Astronómico de La Plata) is anobservatory located in the city ofLa Plata, capital of theprovince ofBuenos Aires,Argentina. ItsIAU code is839.
La Plata was a planned city, intended as the capital of the province after the city ofBuenos Aires became the Argentina's Federal Capital. The observatory was the result of the 1872 establishment of the National Meteorological Bureau, enacted by PresidentDomingo Sarmiento on an initiative by U.S. astronomerBenjamin Apthorp Gould (who lived in Argentina between 1870 and 1885). The construction of the Observatory was funded by a decree passed by La Plata's founder, Buenos Aires Province GovernorDardo 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.
Designed by the master planner of La Plata,Pedro Benoit, ground was broken on the observatory in November 1883. A year earlier, theParis Observatory had sent astronomical instruments to the city ofBragado, Buenos Aires, to observe atransit 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, a lieutenant of theFrench Army and director of the Naval Observatory ofToulon.
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