Rubin Observatory

@VRubinObs@astrodon.social
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Get ready for a new era in astronomy and astrophysics with Rubin Observatory!
#astronomy #engineering #Astrodon #discovery
LocationCerro Pachón, Coquimbo region, Chile
Websitehttp://www.rubinobservatory.org
Twitterhttps://www.twitter.com/VRubinObs
Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/rubin_observatory

Much greater than the sum of our parts!

NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory is what happens when the world comes together to make something incredible.

#RubinFirstLook on June 23 isn't just about Rubin's first images, it's also about who made those images possible!

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💲 Funded and led by:
U.S. National Science Foundation + U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science

💪Early support from the Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences via LSST Discovery Alliance

🔭 Operated by:
NSF NOIRLab (AURA) + SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (Stanford)

With major support from:
🇫🇷 CNRS/IN2P3 (France) + 🇬🇧 STFC/LSST:UK (United Kingdom)
🇧🇷 FAPESP and MCTI in Brazil, long haul data network

And many around the world who contributed to construction🔨

The Universe is full of color, and we're T-8 days from the world's first look at Rubin's view of it!

Get ready to join us for the first preview of the cosmos captured by Rubin #RubinFirstLook
🗓️: June 23, 2025
⌚️: 11am US EDT

https://rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-first-look

Rubin Observatory First Look | Rubin Observatory

Get ready for your "First Look" at the first imagery from NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory on June 23, 2025

The Universe is full of color 🌈

NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory has 6 filters to see specific ranges of colors, labeled u, g, r, i, z, and y. They allow Rubin to #CaptureTheCosmos from high-energy ultraviolet (u), to visible light (g, r), to near-infrared (i, z, y).

Why do we need filters? 🤨

Each filter helps scientists understand specific areas of interest, from young and hot stars that are bright in the ultraviolet, to very faint and distant old galaxies that are visible in the infrared.

Rubin's 8.4-meter telescope is a light collecting machine!

Photons from space reflect off of each of its three mirrors, get focused by the camera's three lenses, and then converted into electric signals by the camera's detectors. Brighter objects mean more photons and larger signals 🌟

Photons give us an incredible amount of information about the sources they originate from. The energy carried by a photon determines its color in visible wavelengths and throughout the electromagnetic spectrum.

We're enlightened by photons 🤩💡

NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory will use its huge camera and 8.4-meter telescope to gather as much information from light-carrying particles called photons as possible.

How do we go from tiny photons to groundbreaking data? 🔭

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1) NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory will revolutionize the way we explore the cosmos. Rubin will conduct a 10-year survey called the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) that will create an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition, time-lapse record of our Universe. 🎥

2) Rubin is packed with innovative technology in its telescope design, camera, and data management system.🔭

We are T–10 days from NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory's First Look! 🚨

This reveal of Rubin's first images is just a preview of what's to come as Rubin prepares to #CaptureTheCosmos for the next ten years!

Here are 6 things you need to know before the big day🎬

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9️⃣ The LSST Camera being installed on the Simonyi Survey Telescope in March 2025.
🔟 A celebration in the Rubin control room as the telescope opens its eye to the sky!

We're getting SO CLOSE to the reveal of NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory's first images on June 23! So let's take a walk down memory lane 🎞️

Come with us through 10 memorable moments from the past 10+ years of building Rubin 🔭

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📷: H. Stockebrand