Editing Paris Observatory (section)

==Constitution==

Administratively, it is a ''[[grand établissement]]'' of the French [[Ministry of National Education (France)|Ministry of National Education]], with a status close to that of a public university. Its missions include:<ref name="home">{{ cite web | url=http://www.obspm.fr/presentation.en.shtml | title=The Paris Observatory | publisher=l'Observatoire de Paris | access-date=2007-08-27 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824063505/http://www.obspm.fr/presentation.en.shtml | archive-date=2007-08-24 }}</ref>
* Research in astronomy and [[astrophysics]]
* Education (four graduate programs, [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] studies)
* Diffusion of knowledge to the public

It maintains a solar observatory at [[Meudon, France|Meudon]] and a radio astronomy observatory at [[Nançay Radio Telescope|Nançay]].<ref name="home"/> It was also the home to the [[International Time Bureau]] until its dissolution in 1987.<ref>Guinot (2000)</ref> It remains the source of legal time in France,<ref>[https://heurelegalefrancaise.fr/ French legal time] "French legal time is generated and provided by Observatoire de Paris as part of its missions and in agreement with Decree No. 2017-292 of March 6, 2017 defining French legal time.  Legal time is constructed from UTC(OP), which is the real-time realization of UTC at Observatoire de Paris."</ref> using multiple [[atomic fountain]] clocks maintained by its '''SYRTE''' ({{lang|fr|Sytèmes de Référence Temps Espace}}) department.<ref>{{cite journal
 |title=Atomic fountains and optical clocks at SYRTE: status and perspectives
 |author1=M. Abgrall |display-authors=etal
 |journal=[[Comptes Rendus Physique]] |volume=16 |issue=5
 |date=June 2015 |pages=461–470
 |doi=10.1016/j.crhy.2015.03.010
 |arxiv=1507.04623
}}</ref>  The Paris Observatory Library, which was founded in 1785, provides the researchers with documentation and preserves the ancient books, archives, and heritage collections of the institution. Many collections are available online.{{fact|date=March 2024}}