Press Releases

Centaurus A captured by the Dark Energy Camera

Photo Release: 31 Aug. 2021 — noirlab2125

Spectacular Portrait of Centaurus A

A spectacular portrait of the galaxy Centaurus A has been captured by astronomers using the Dark Energy Camera mounted on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. This galaxy’s peculiar appearance — cloaked in dark tendrils of dust — stems from a past interaction with another galaxy, and its size and proximity to Earth make it one of the best-studied giant galaxies in the night sky.
Vera C. Rubin Observatory under construction

Organization Release: 25 Aug. 2021 — noirlab2124

New Initiative to Help Unravel Cosmic Mysteries with Big Data

An expansive, multi-year collaboration will create new software to analyze the datasets from the upcoming Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time. The effort, led by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Washington, will enable large-scale science fueled by the new data. The Community Science and Data Center at NSF's NOIRLab will collaborate with the team to make the software freely available to the entire astrophysics community.
Illustration showing the asteroid 2021 PH27 inside Mercury’s orbit

Science Release: 23 Aug. 2021 — noirlab2123

Fastest Orbiting Asteroid Discovered at NOIRLab’s CTIO

Using the powerful 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera (DECam) in Chile, astronomers just ten days ago discovered an asteroid with the shortest orbital period of any known asteroid in the Solar System. The orbit of the approximately 1-kilometer-diameter asteroid takes it as close as 20 million kilometers (12 million miles or 0.13 au), from the Sun every 113 days. Asteroid 2021 PH27, revealed in images acquired during twilight, also has the smallest mean distance (semi-major axis) of any known asteroid in our Solar System — only Mercury has a shorter period and smaller semi-major axis. The asteroid is so close to the Sun’s massive gravitational field, it experiences the largest general relativistic effects of any known Solar System object.
McMath Pierce Solar Telescope Facility with Milky Way

Organization Release: 18 Aug. 2021 — noirlab2122

Construction Begins on the NOIRLab Windows on the Universe Center for Astronomy Outreach

What was once the largest solar observatory in the world is now undergoing a transformation to become a one-of-a-kind facility for sharing the wonders of astronomy with people around the globe. Construction work has started to recast the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope facility at Kitt Peak National Observatory into the NOIRLab Windows on the Universe Center for Astronomy Outreach.
Illustration of a Short Gamma-Ray Burst Caused by a Collapsing Star

Science Release: 26 July 2021 — noirlab2121

Astronomers Uncover Briefest Supernova-Powered Gamma-Ray Burst

Astronomers have discovered the shortest-ever gamma-ray burst (GRB) caused by the implosion of a massive star. Using the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, astronomers identified the cause of this 0.6-second flurry of gamma rays as a supernova explosion in a distant galaxy. GRBs caused by supernovae are usually more than twice as long, which suggests that some short GRBs might actually be imposters — supernova-produced GRBs in disguise.

Images of the Week

Crags and Clouds

15 Sept. 2021 — iotw2137

Crags and Clouds
A Very Wooly Galaxy

8 Sept. 2021 — iotw2136

A Very Wooly Galaxy
Red Dish at Night

1 Sept. 2021 — iotw2135

Red Dish at Night
Cloudy Sunset at CTIO

25 Aug. 2021 — iotw2134

Cloudy Sunset at CTIO
Sunset and Shadow

18 Aug. 2021 — iotw2133

Sunset and Shadow
Desert Skyscape

11 Aug. 2021 — iotw2132

Desert Skyscape
Happy Trails

4 Aug. 2021 — iotw2131

Happy Trails
Dusty Skies at Kitt Peak

28 July 2021 — iotw2130

Dusty Skies at Kitt Peak
At the Foot of Maunakea

21 July 2021 — iotw2129

At the Foot of Maunakea
Starry Horizon from Kitt Peak

14 July 2021 — iotw2128

Starry Horizon from Kitt Peak

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Jennifer Lotz

7 Sept. 2021

“I feel lucky to have been in the right place at the right time, a number of times!”
An excerpt of the Hubble Deep Field

24 Aug. 2021

How quickly is the Universe expanding?
Gemini Observatory telescope shutdown

10 Aug. 2021

Mariah Birchard: An unsung hero of Gemini Observatory
Galactic Rainbow

27 July 2021

Nabbed by NOIRLab: Discovering the most distant star cluster in our Milky Way
Andes Lidar Observatory

13 July 2021

Studying Earth’s atmosphere with Andes Lidar Observatory

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.