Media Advisory: Invitation to Rubin Observatory First Look Tucson Watch Party

Arizona media are invited to attend the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory First Look Watch Party in Tucson on 23 June

10 June 2025

It is our great pleasure to invite you to join us in celebration as we reveal the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s First Look images on 23 June 2025. Gather with present and former staff, scientific colleagues and collaborators, friends, and family to share in this major milestone. This is the first step on the path to the incredible Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) — a 10 year survey of the southern sky to be completed by the Rubin Observatory and its scientific community.

The Rubin Observatory First Look press conference will be held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C. The event will be live streamed to hundreds of Watch Parties around the globe, including one right here in Tucson, which will be held at the Grand Challenges Building on the campus of the University of Arizona (convenient parking can be found in the Cherry Street parking garage). Doors will open at 7:00 a.m. MST and the program will begin at 7:30 a.m.

Following the press conference we will entertain questions and comments from those assembled with a panel of scientific experts as we start the initial exploration of these amazing images.

The current agenda is as follows:

7:30 Welcome remarks from Rubin and NOIRLab Leadership
7:45 High level overview of the history of Rubin leading to today
8:00 Live streaming of the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory First Look press conference from the
National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C.
8:45 Break
9:00 An in-depth look at, and scientific explanation of, the First Look images with our expert panel
10:00 Break
10:30 Questions from local media and dialogue about what comes next for astronomy in the Rubin era
11:30 Live streamed summit tour from Chile
12:00 Closing remarks

If you are interested in attending, please RSVP using this form.

We look forward to seeing you on Monday 23 June for this momentous occasion!

More information 

NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, is a groundbreaking new astronomy and astrophysics observatory under construction on Cerro Pachón in Chile, with first light expected in 2025. It is named after astronomer Vera Rubin, who provided the first convincing evidence for the existence of dark matter. Using the largest camera ever built, Rubin will repeatedly scan the sky for 10 years and create an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition, time-lapse record of our Universe.

NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is a joint initiative of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science (DOE/SC). Its primary mission is to carry out the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, providing an unprecedented data set for scientific research supported by both agencies. Rubin is operated jointly by NSF NOIRLab and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. NSF NOIRLab is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) and SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the DOE. France provides key support to the construction and operations of Rubin Observatory through contributions from CNRS/IN2P3. Rubin Observatory is privileged to conduct research in Chile and gratefully acknowledges additional contributions from more than 40 international organizations and teams.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science. NSF supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.

The DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

NSF NOIRLab, the U.S. National Science Foundation center for ground-based optical-infrared astronomy, operates the International Gemini Observatory (a facility of NSF, NRC–Canada, ANID–Chile, MCTIC–Brazil, MINCyT–Argentina, and KASI–Republic of Korea), NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), NSF Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), and NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory (in cooperation with DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory). It is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with NSF and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. 

The scientific community is honored to have the opportunity to conduct astronomical research on I’oligam Du’ag (Kitt Peak) in Arizona, on Maunakea in Hawai‘i, and on Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón in Chile. We recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence of I’oligam Du’ag to the Tohono O’odham Nation, and Maunakea to the Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) community.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory explores how the universe works at the biggest, smallest and fastest scales and invents powerful tools used by researchers around the globe. As world leaders in ultrafast science and bold explorers of the physics of the universe, we forge new ground in understanding our origins and building a healthier and more sustainable future. Our discovery and innovation help develop new materials and chemical processes and open unprecedented views of the cosmos and life’s most delicate machinery. Building on more than 60 years of visionary research, we help shape the future by advancing areas such as quantum technology, scientific computing and the development of next-generation accelerators. SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

Links

• Vera C. Rubin Observatory website
• Rubin First Look Watch Party website
• Vera C. Rubin Observatory images
• More Rubin images
• Rubin videos
• Rubin multimedia resources

Contacts

Bob Blum
Director for Operations
Vera C. Rubin Observatory / NSF NOIRLab
Tel: +1 520-318-8233
Email: bob.blum@noirlab.edu

Alan Strauss
Head of Education and Public Outreach
Vera C. Rubin Observatory / NSF NOIRLab
Email: alan.strauss@noirlab.edu

Josie Fenske
Jr. Public Information Officer
NSF NOIRLab
Email: josie.fenske@noirlab.edu