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Press Releases


Journey Through the Universe 2021 poster

Organization Release: 22 Feb. 2021 — noirlab2109

Journey Through the Universe 2021

Journey Through the Universe — which, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, will take place entirely online for the first time in 2021 — will share the wonders of the Universe and the possibilities of a career in science and technology with school students on Hawai‘i Island. This year’s iteration of the flagship astronomy education and outreach program is highlighted by a week of virtual educational programming from 1 to 5 March 2021.

Farfarout Illustration

Science Release: 10 Feb. 2021 — noirlab2108

Astronomers Confirm Solar System’s Most Distant Known Object Is Indeed Farfarout

With the help of the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, and other ground-based telescopes, astronomers have confirmed that a faint object discovered in 2018 and nicknamed “Farfarout” is indeed the most distant object yet found in our Solar System. The object has just received its designation from the International Astronomical Union.

Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, Messier 83

Photo Release: 8 Feb. 2021 — noirlab2107

The Spiral of the Southern Pinwheel

The Dark Energy Camera (DECam), which was originally designed for the Dark Energy Survey, has captured one of the deepest images ever taken of Messier 83, a spiral galaxy playfully known as the Southern Pinwheel. Built by the US Department of Energy, DECam is mounted on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab.

Elliptical galaxy NGC 474 — excerpt from the Dark Energy Survey

Organization Release: 14 Jan. 2021 — noirlab2106

Shining a New Light on Dark Energy

The Dark Energy Survey has released a massive, public collection of astronomical data and calibrated images from six years of work. Containing data on nearly 700 million astronomical objects, this second data release in the Survey’s seven-year history is the topic of sessions today and tomorrow at the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Brown dwarfs in the Sun’s neighborhood

Science Release: 13 Jan. 2021 — noirlab2105

Mapping Our Sun’s Backyard

Astronomers have curated the most complete list of nearby brown dwarfs to date thanks to discoveries made by thousands of volunteers participating in the Backyard Worlds citizen science project. The list and 3D map of 525 brown dwarfs — including 38 reported for the first time — incorporate observations from a host of astronomical instruments including several NOIRLab facilities. The results confirm that the Sun’s neighborhood appears surprisingly diverse relative to other parts of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Coronavirus COVID-19 Measures at NOIRLab

As COVID-19 continues to spread globally, NOIRLab is actively responding to the situation and taking measures to ensure the safety of its staff and the public.


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Announcements


24 Feb. 2021 — ann21007 Gemini Card Game Graphic

Virtual Card Game Allows Anyone to ‘Observe’ with Gemini

The international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, is constantly making new astronomical observations that provide deeper insights into the nature of our Universe. But how do those observations actually happen? What is required to turn a...

23 Feb. 2021 — rubinann21003 Rubin Observatory Logo

Rubin Digest 23 February 2021

Project & Science News

The Survey Cadence Optimization Committee (SCOC) has extended the deadline for the Cadence Notes Solicitation Call from March 15th to April 15th, 2021. The change is intended to provide the community additional time to evalu...

22 Feb. 2021 — ann21006 GHOST spectrograph arriving at Gemini South

A GHOST Arrives

Key components of the Gemini High-resolution Optical SpecTrograph (GHOST) instrument have arrived and are awaiting assembly at its home, Gemini South on Cerro Pachón in Chile [1]. GHOST is expected to play a key role in the research output of Gemini So...

9 Feb. 2021 — rubinann21002 Rubin Observatory Logo

Rubin Digest 09 February 2021

Project & Science News

The Rubin Observatory Data Management (DM) team seeks input from the science community regarding which photo-z estimator(s) should be adopted to generate photometric redshifts (photo-z) for the LSST Data Release (DR) Object ...

2 Feb. 2021 — ann21005 Love the Stars 2021

Globe at Night’s Stellar Year — Will You Love the Stars in 2021?

Globe at Night is an international, online, citizen-science campaign, run by NSF’s NOIRLab to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure and submit their night sky brightness observations. Globe at...

26 Jan. 2021 — rubinann21001 Rubin Observatory Logo

Rubin Digest 26 January 2021

Project & Science News

Rubin Observatory participated in the first all-virtual American Astronomical Society Winter Meeting (AAS237) on January 11-16, 2021. Details about the Rubin Open House, exhibit booth, and special sessions can be found in th...

22 Jan. 2021 — ann21004 NOIRLab Mirror: Issue 02

January Issue of the NOIRLab Mirror Newsletter Published

The second (January 2021) edition of the NOIRLab Mirror newsletter is now available. This new, twice-yearly, newsletter focuses on news for the NOIRLab community, and showcases the science, technology, and developments across the five NOIRLab Programs:...

13 Jan. 2021 — ann21003 Cover of Best Media Practices for Multi-institutional Science Collaborations

New White Paper on Best Practices for Multi-Institution Astronomy Communication

Scientists and science communication professionals from a collection of institutes, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), NSF’s NOIRLab, NASA, AURA, and various European observatories, have published a white paper detailing best practices fo...

12 Jan. 2021 — ann21002 Cover of Dark & Quiet Skies report

Report Published Following Workshop on Dark & Quiet Skies for Science and Society

From 5 to 9 October 2020, more than 950 people took part in an online Workshop on Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society. Drawing on this event, a report is now available online which describes the impact of human activities on the visibility of ...

12 Jan. 2021 — ann21001 New Horizons

NOIRLab Scientist Finds the Universe to be Brighter than Expected

Measurements of the Universe’s darkness performed with NASA’s New Horizons probe reveal an unexplained glow to the Universe. These results are presented at the January 2021 meeting of the American Astronomical Society.[1]

NOIRLab’s facilities focus on...

22 Dec. 2020 — rubinann20022 Rubin Observatory Logo

Rubin Digest 22 December 2020

Project & Science News

This will be the last News Digest for 2020; Rubin Observatory wishes all our colleagues and their families a very happy and relaxing holiday. This year’s holiday card is featured on our website, along with a 2020 in Review n...

17 Dec. 2020 — ann20022 Astronomers Feast on First Light From Gravitational Wave Event

Media Advisory: Science Writer’s Workshop on Multi-Messenger and Time-Domain Astronomy

On Friday 8 January 2021 journalists and other communications professionals are invited to participate in a virtual workshop on multi-messenger and time-domain astronomy. The workshop is part of the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (A...

9 Dec. 2020 — rubinann20021 Rubin Observatory Logo

Rubin Digest 09 December 2020

Project & Science News

Rubin Observatory now has an official logo! The logo premiered on December 3rd with a press release, social media posts, and announcements on all the Rubin communications channels. The logo is a visual representation of Rubi...

7 Dec. 2020 — ann20021 Víctor M. Blanco Telescope Maintenance

NOIRLab Update on COVID-19 Implications

Following is an update on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on NSF’s NOIRLab. 

Starting in mid-October 2020, science operations conducted with limited staff were re-established at Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) in Arizona and at the Cerro Tol...

7 Dec. 2020 — ann20002 Coronavirus illustration

Coronavirus COVID-19 Measures at NOIRLab

As COVID-19 continues to spread globally, NOIRLab is actively responding to the situation and taking measures to ensure the safety of its staff and the public. We are currently not hosting visitors to the summit or base facilities.

Update Dec. 07, 202...

4 Dec. 2020 — ann20020 A visual representation of the Rubin Science Platform

Rubin Observatory Partners with Google Cloud to Build Interim Data Facility

Google Cloud today announced that Vera C. Rubin Observatory has entered into a three-year agreement to host its Interim Data Facility (IDF) on the Google Cloud Platform. This collaboration ushers in a new era in large-scale scientific computing of astr...

3 Dec. 2020 — ann20019 Rubin Observatory Logo

Rubin Observatory Unveils its Logo

Vera C. Rubin Observatory is pleased to announce the release of its official logo following the organization’s renaming in December 2019. Formerly known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, Rubin Observatory was renamed, by an Act of Congress, to ho...

24 Nov. 2020 — ann20018 Joan Najita, 2020 AAAS Fellow

NOIRLab’s Joan Najita Elected 2020 AAAS Fellow

Joan Najita of NSF’s NOIRLab has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

Najita was elected as an AAAS Fellow for her dist...

22 Nov. 2020 — ann20017 Minimoon 2020 CD3 in Color

Mysterious Minimoon Identified

An international team of astronomers has identified the nature of Earth’s second known minimoon, 2020 CD3, following its discovery by the Catalina Sky Survey and follow-up imaging with the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, e...

17 Nov. 2020 — rubinann20020 Logo: Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Rubin Digest 17 November 2020

Project & Science News

Construction activity on Cerro Pachón continues to expand, with approximately 40 people working on the summit each day last week. That will increase this week, with the restart of the team installing critical telescope utili...

Images of the Week


Lightning Strikes Up

24 Feb. 2021 — iotw2108

Lightning Strikes Up

Guardians of the Galaxy

17 Feb. 2021 — iotw2107

Guardians of the Galaxy

Snowy Sunrise on Maunakea

10 Feb. 2021 — iotw2106

Snowy Sunrise on Maunakea

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!

3 Feb. 2021 — iotw2105

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!

Serpent’s Nebula

27 Jan. 2021 — iotw2104

Serpent’s Nebula

A Stellar Storm

20 Jan. 2021 — iotw2103

A Stellar Storm

A Vintage Lightning Storm at Kitt Peak

13 Jan. 2021 — iotw2102

A Vintage Lightning Storm at Kitt Peak

Portrait of a Needle Galaxy

6 Jan. 2021 — iotw2101

Portrait of a Needle Galaxy

Sunset Skies at CTIO

30 Dec. 2020 — iotw2053

Sunset Skies at CTIO

The Great 2020 Conjunction

23 Dec. 2020 — iotw2052

The Great 2020 Conjunction

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Our Programs


Cerro Tololo

From the first observations in 1965, Cerro Tololo, located in Chile, has served as the principal platform for U.S. astronomical investigation of the southern skies.

Community Science & Data Center

Programs within the Community Science and Data Center support and enable a broad range of astronomical community science activities across the US ground-based optical and infrared system.

Kitt Peak

Founded in 1958, Kitt Peak National Observatory is home to one of the largest arrays of optical and radio telescopes in the world.

Gemini Observatory

The Gemini Observatory consists of twin 8.1-meter diameter optical/infrared telescopes located on two of the best observing sites on the planet.

Rubin Observatory

Vera C. Rubin Observatory, currently under construction on Cerro Pachón in Chile, is an 8-meter-class telescope coupled to a 3.2-gigapixel camera – the world’s largest digital camera ever fabricated for optical astronomy.

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Discovering Our Universe Together

NSF’s NOIRLab is the preeminent US national center for ground-based, nighttime optical and infrared astronomy. The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) operates these facilities and NSF’s NOIRLab under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF).