Rubin Observatory

We have a telescope!🤩

Last week, summit staff successfully installed Rubin Observatory's combined primary/tertiary mirror.

With all three mirrors & the commissioning camera in place, we officially—for the first time in 15 years of construction—have a complete telescope!🥳

Watch the installation time-lapse at https://youtu.be/6EWUpZG1pAM

Rubin's telescope structure, pointing upward. The telescope is made of teal steel support beams and is shaped like a vase, with a flat top and rounded flat bottom.

Like 8 October at 15:59 | Open on astrodon.social

Rubin Observatory

This isn't the telescope's final form though! This iteration has the smaller 144-megapixel commissioning camera used for testing.

Rubin's 3200-megapixel LSST Camera, which will #CaptureTheCosmos in science operations, will be installed early next year.

Congratulations to the #RubinTeam on this milestone, and major thanks to our incredible summit staff for all of their hard work! 🥳

Next step: get this telescope on-sky 🌌

A dozen people in orange construction vests and hard hats pose in front of Rubin's telescope, with the primary mirror visible as a circular black structure on its teal cell positioned underneath the rest of the teal telescope structure.

8 October at 15:59 | Open on astrodon.social

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Albert Cardona

@VRubinObs

Kind of concerned the mirror was transported unprotected? Tell me there was a plastic film or something?

8 October at 18:52 | Open on mathstodon.xyz

Rubin Observatory

Say cheese!

Rubin Observatory photographs pretty well, in our (not so) humble opinion ✨ Celebrate #WorldPhotographyDay with us by grabbing one of these new wallpapers for your phone! 📱📷

Rubin Observatory from above on its desert summit site under blue skies, with mountains receding into the background. Rubin is a boot-like shape at center, with a long white service building extending toward left and angular silver dome rising on the right. Patchy snow covers the brown mountain site.

The secondary mirror of Rubin Observatory is lowered into final position on the telescope, as viewed from the other end of the telescope through the light-dispersing baffle for the primary mirror. The baffle forms a black circular border around the image. The secondary mirror supports form an X in the background with a teal ring in the center where the mirror will go. The mirror with its metal cover is just above the teal ring. Walkway platforms bisect the view from the left and right.

A snowy desert mountain landscape. In the foreground are a white shed on the left and a line-up of multi-colored shipping containers on the right. A plowed dirt road separates the shed from the containers. Snow-covered mountains rise up in the background under a partly clear sky with patchy cotton ball clouds.

Rubin Observatory on its desert site on Cerro Pachón. The angular silver dome sits on top of a white cylindrical base, and its vertical shutters are slightly open revealing a thin vertical dark line looking into the dome. A crane sits to the left, long and thin arm extended all the way over the top of the dome. The brown desert mountain landscape with thin patchy snow fills the remainder of the photo.

Like 19 August at 22:45 | Open on astrodon.social

Rubin Observatory

We’re nearing our final form 😎

Gear up, this one’s good. The Rubin Observatory dome officially rotated using its permanent gear system for the first time!

Until now, the dome moved with a temporary system that would only roughly position the dome as needed during construction. The new gear drive is what will precisely rotate the 600-ton dome into position throughout Rubin’s ten-year survey, due to start in 2025. And it has little vibration—important for the crisp images we all can’t wait for!

Like 7 Dec 2023 at 19:31 | Open on astrodon.social

Dr. Quadragon ❌

@VRubinObs сс @Chia

7 Dec 2023 at 20:02 | Open on mastodon.ml

Rubin Observatory

🚨 Deadline alert!

Are you a scientist wanting to help create software tools to analyze Rubin data?

Stage-one proposals for the second session of the LINCC Frameworks Incubator program are due by June 15 at 11:59p PDT! #LSSTC @CarnegieMellon @UW

🔗: forms.gle/rtJoGrA5vyoqMV177

Like 14 Jun 2023 at 17:00 | Open on astrodon.social

Rubin Observatory

Want to know more about the Incubator program? Or do you have questions and want to join a virtual office hours session this Thursday at 9am PDT?
➡️ www.lsstcorporation.org/lincc/content/incubators

For additional information about this call for proposals:
➡️ www.lsstcorporation.org/lincc/content/incubator-call-proposals

14 Jun 2023 at 17:00 | Open on astrodon.social

Rubin Observatory

Scanning…✅

Rubin Observatory is a “survey telescope”—but what does that mean?

Telescopes come in many forms. Some are built to study small areas of sky, in fine detail and high resolution.

Survey telescopes, however, map the cosmos by imaging the entire night sky🧵

white observatory building atop a rocky summit under the full moon and against a blue and purple twilight sky

Like 7 Jun 2023 at 20:06 | Open on astrodon.social

Rubin Observatory

With these general pictures, scientists can study many different things using the same data.

One scientist could use the images to study stationary galaxies. Another could use the same images to look for objects that change or move in the sky, like supernovae or asteroids.

collage with left photo showing a bright blue comet nucleus and purple tail, upper right photo showing a group of purple-white blobby galaxies, and lower right photo showing one large yellow-white spiral galaxy

7 Jun 2023 at 20:06 | Open on astrodon.social

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Rubin Observatory

Everyone's got that photobombing friend 🙄

Our all-sky camera monitors weather and clouds over the entire sky to help scientists with observations. But sometimes, it gets to monitor the local wildlife!

Right now, the all-sky camera is used for observations with the Auxiliary Telescope (and photos of birds, of course). Once Rubin is online, the all-sky camera's continuous cloud-mapping will help our automated survey software pick the best spot to point the telescope next!

the orange-yellow feet and black talons of a large bird dominate this all-sky view. The bird's body is white underneath, with hints of its black back visible. The all-sky view itself is a blue circle taking up most of the image, and we see everything as if from below. Compass markings show North to the right and rotated toward the left slightly.

a small bird with yellow body and black head stands to the lower right of this all-sky view with the sun visible overhead. The all-sky view itself is a blue circle taking up most of the image, and we see everything as if from below. Compass markings show North to the right and rotated toward the left slightly.

a small bird with white belly stands directly in the center of this all-sky view. The bird has thin, twig-like feet, and its beak just barely peak out over its belly. The all-sky view itself is a blue circle taking up most of the image, and we see everything as if from below. Compass markings show North to the right and rotated toward the left slightly.

a small gray bird stands to the right of this all-sky view with wispy, cotton ball clouds partially filling the sky. The bird's body has hints of its black back visible. The all-sky view itself is a circle taking up most of the image, and we see everything as if from below. Compass markings show North to the right and rotated toward the left slightly.

Like 1 21 Mar 2023 at 16:00 | Open on astrodon.social

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Rubin Observatory

For those wondering what these birds are standing on, here is our all-sky camera viewed from outside!

21 Mar 2023 at 18:49 | Open on astrodon.social

Blue

@VRubinObs@astrodon.social chirp-chirp

21 Mar 2023 at 19:06 | Open on quietplace.xyz

WOMUMP

@VRubinObs Local Species Survey Telescope

21 Mar 2023 at 19:16 | Open on mastodon.social

Rubin Observatory

Hope you're not afraid of heights 😬

Take a trip with a few of our staff up to the roof of the observatory dome! But just know that the way to get there involves riding in a three-person crane box over a hundred feet in the air 🤯

...or you can just watch this video instead.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZsF9YqQdvBk

Like 13 Mar 2023 at 20:30 | Open on astrodon.social

Rubin Observatory

🌙 Look close. Even closer.

Do you see it?

The tiniest sliver of a crescent moon shines in this vivid sunset scene, just beyond the silhouette of Rubin Observatory.

This photo was taken by #RubinTeam member Yusra AlSayyad on November 24

The black silhouette of Rubin Observatory peeks out from the right side of the image, as a tiny sliver of a crescent moon glimmers in a firey red-orange sunset in the distance

Like 9 Dec 2022 at 20:02 | Open on astrodon.social

Rubin Observatory

"Become an astronomer," they said. "It'll be fun," they said.

Chile has some of the best skies for nighttime observing, thanks to its many high and dry desert mountains. The lack of moisture means most nights of the year are cloud-free 😎🌌

...emphasis on *most*

These photos were taken during a winter storm on Cerro Pachón in June 2022.

📷: E. Serrano/NSF/@AURA