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19 May 2020: Project & Science News Planning is underway for virtual Rubin Observatory Project and Community activities that will take place the week of August 10-14, 2020 (in place of the in-person Workshop). Please keep these dates reserved on your calendar, and watch for more information coming soon. Rubin Observatory has released an updated report on the evolving satellite constellation issue, detailing the work being done jointly by Rubin Observatory and SpaceX exploring different mitigation strategies. The updated report is available at this link. An article on the subject also appeared in the New York Times on May 6th. Limited work activities resumed on the LSST Camera at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory during the week of May 11th, with one person permitted in the Camera workspace to start preparing for the restart of the refrigeration system. In France, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has been lifted and IN2P3 is expected to conduct a …

5 May 2020: Project & Science News Closures are still in effect for key Rubin Observatory locations, including the summit construction site. However, in compliance with local regulations, the Rubin team has been able to keep up with some essential activities to ensure our sites are secure. These activities are being completed with safety of staff members as the first priority. In parallel, the Project leadership team is working on plans to restart construction activities safely and in a phased way once it is deemed safe to do so. The plans will focus on priority technical areas but will also comply with government orders as well as health and safety department guidelines. All efforts will be coordinated with AURA and SLAC for an organized and safe return to construction. Updated information on details related to the COVID-19 pandemic and answers to Frequently Asked Questions can be found at this link. An NSF/DOE Quarterly …

21 April 2020: Project & Science News Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Rubin Observatory Project & Community Workshop, (PCW) planned for August 10-14, has been cancelled. At the workshop we planned to celebrate both our new name and the 10th anniversary of the 2010 Decadal Survey ranking LSST number one as the highest priority in ground-based astronomy. We will now postpone this celebration to 2021. The Project and Operations teams are also looking at alternative opportunities to engage with the community this year (the week of August 10-14), and further updates will be coming soon. Also because of COVID-19 disruptions, the due date for community broker proposals will be extended for at least six months, with a due date no earlier than December 15th, 2020. The Rubin Observatory Science Advisory Committee (SAC) will provide further updates on the status of the Call on or before June 15th. By that time the …

7 April 2020: Project & Science News The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact Rubin Observatory construction. The summit shutdown is still in effect and has halted all activity there including work on the Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA), and the Dome. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is also still closed, preventing work on the Camera. When safe conditions permit the facilities to re-open, Project leadership will work with the team to transition back to full construction, as well as with our funding agencies, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Department of Energy (DOE), to re-baseline the Project. Answers to frequently asked questions about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Rubin Observatory have been posted on the website. Project members should log in to view additional questions and answers that pertain to staff. Please note: Daylight Saving Time in Chile ended on Saturday April 4th, and clocks there moved back an hour. If …

24 March 2020: Project & Science News The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact Project activities. As a preventative measure, construction activities on Cerro Pachón have been shut down, and the site secured as safely as possible given the incomplete condition of the facility. Staff are now teleworking, and will focus on advancing any elements of the Project possible. The Base Facility in La Serena and the Project headquarters in Tucson, AZ, are also closed with staff teleworking. Updates on the evolving situation are available here. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has closed completely, with all staff teleworking, for an initial period of three weeks. Work on the LSST Camera is suspended while the facility is closed; updates on the closure will be posted on the SLAC website. Rubin Observatory Chief Scientist Tony Tyson briefed the United States Congress on March 11, 2020, on the impact of satellite constellations on astronomy. His presentation, which is …

10 March 2020: Project & Science News Double-check your clocks and your calendars—Daylight Saving Time returned to most of the US on Sunday, March 8th. Rubin Observatory uses Pacific Time as official project time, which means that many standing meeting times will change for staff in Tucson and Chile. Please check with meeting coordinators to confirm start times, especially for meetings involving staff at multiple locations. An updated review on the impact of constellation satellites on Rubin Observatory science, including possible mitigation strategies, has been prepared by Chief Scientist Tony Tyson and Deputy Director Zeljko Ivezic, with the input of the Project Science Team and the Rubin Observatory/LSST Science Collaborations. The review is now available at this link. The Rubin Observatory Algorithms Workshop, originally scheduled for March 17-19 in Princeton, NJ, has been modified to be an all-virtual event. This decision was made in light of travel uncertainties and risks related to the …

26 February 2020: Project & Science News The Rubin Observatory Project Office has released a new name usage guide with information on how to refer to Rubin Observatory in a variety of circumstances. The guide can be found at https://ls.st/name. Please note that in order to appropriately acknowledge Vera Rubin (and not hide her behind an acronym), we are asking people not to use the acronym VRO. Commissioning for the Rubin Observatory Auxiliary Telescope (AuxTel) and the LSST Atmospheric Transmission Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (LATISS) has now formally begun. Commissioning activities have involved personnel in Chile, the UK, and Tucson, where the team has been using the new remote operations room that was recently constructed at Rubin Observatory Project headquarters (photo here). Read more about the AuxTel and spectrograph in this recent news item featuring the first images produced by the AuxTel spectrograph in late January. At SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the first …

12 February 2020: Project & Science News On Cerro Pachón, the Auxiliary Telescope (AuxTel) spectrograph took its first on-sky images on January 27th. The AuxTel team was able to take data in all modes (both imagery and using dispersers). Reaching this milestone involved multiple Project members across the Telescope & Site, Data Management, and Camera teams over a period of years. The images collected also represent a significant milestone for system integration and commissioning efforts, as this system provides a realistic platform where all teams will continue to develop, deploy, and test their software; train personnel; and develop the operational environment and culture prior to commissioning the main observatory components. In early February, a combined team from Rubin Observatory, Asturfeito, and Burger Cranes successfully installed the Telescope Mount Assembly’s two main supports and the keel beam (which links the supports) inside the summit facility. The pieces were lifted through the observatory dome using …

24 January 2020: Project & Science News The AAS Winter meeting in Honolulu was the occasion for announcing the Project’s new name: Vera C. Rubin Observatory (Rubin Observatory). The official announcement was made at an open house on Monday, January 6th by Ralph Gaume, Director of the NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences; Kathy Turner, DOE Office of High Energy Physics program manager; and Steve Kahn, Rubin Observatory Director. Watch the video clip of the live announcement here, and read the press release here. For the first ten years of operation Vera C. Rubin Observatory will perform the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time, using the Rubin Observatory LSST Camera and the Simonyi Survey Telescope” Following the renaming announcement, the Rubin Observatory open house featured presentations by Project Manager Victor Krabbendam, Deputy Director Zeljko Ivezic, Acting Director of Operations Bob Blum, Science Collaborations Coordinator Federica Bianco, and LSST Corporation Director of Science …

17 December 2019: Project & Science News The LSST Project Offices wishes everyone relaxing holidays and a Happy New Year! The LSST 2019 Holiday Card can be viewed at this link, and a news item highlighting some major LSST milestones achieved in 2019 is available here. The 2019 Day in the Life of LSST video is now available; you can view it at this link. Thank you to everyone who participated! LSST is finalizing plans for the open house to be held Monday, January 6th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Winter meeting. A vast amount of important information is on the agenda, so we encourage you to attend if you’ll be at the meeting. Info and presentations will also be made available after the meeting, so watch for announcements. Additionally LSST will be staffing booth #603G in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Pavilion of the Exhibit Hall on January …

26 November 2019: Project & Science News LSST will host a booth and an open house at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Winter meeting in Honolulu, HI on January 4-9, 2020. The LSST Open House is scheduled for Monday, January 6th from 5:30-7:00 p.m. More details about the LSST booth and the open house will be shared when they are available. The LSST Operations Team recently invited current LSST Corporation Memorandum of Agreement holders to submit Letters of Intent (LOIs) to make in-kind contributions in exchange for LSST data rights. LSST received Letters of Interest (LOI) from prospective international members including 478 principal investigators. About 70 of these are from new institutions without prior agreements with the LSST Corporation. The letters speak to contributions that cover all types of in-kind contributions noted by NSF and DOE in their May 2019 talking points. The letters will be forwarded this week to NSF and DOE …

12 November 2019: Project & Science News An update on LSST Data Rights and in-kind contributions is now available; read the details at this link. Additionally, a public draft of the LSST Data Policy has been released on Docushare. Questions and comments about the evolving policy are welcome on community.lsst.org. Social unrest in Chile in October had an impact on LSST construction progress, as nightly curfews and safety concerns required the adjustment of work hours and transportation to and from the summit. LSST Project Manager Victor Krabbendam, who was in Chile on a scheduled visit when civil protests began on October 18th, was able to assist with logistics so that dome work could continue on the summit when possible. Photos from his visit are available in the LSST Gallery. Because the social situation in Chile continues to be unstable, we are still monitoring events closely, communicating frequently with personnel in Chile, and planning …

29 October 2019: Project & Science News Our thoughts are with our Chile-based colleagues during the recent period of social instability. All LSST staff and their families, as well as contractors and visitors, are safe, and we have stayed in frequent contact with them since the unrest in Chile began. A team from EIE Group and Phase Motion Control has arrived on the summit to start up and test the LSST Dome azimuth drives. As of last week, the bogies had undergone final alignment, installation/connection of drives was complete, and the dome was successfully rotating under power with a provisional friction drive system in place of the final rack-and-piñon system. A short video of the dome rotating is available at this link. The carousel and back flange of the LSST filter exchange system, which were recently transported by plane from Paris, France, have safely arrived at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, …

15 October 2019: Project Science News On October 1st, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) launched NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NSF’s NOIR Lab), which integrates operations of all of NSF’s nighttime astronomical facilities. LSST Operations will be one of the five facilities included in this new organization. The LSST Primary/Tertiary Mirror (M1M3) cell assembly has been successfully integrated with the M1M3 mirror surrogate inside the LSST summit facility building. On October 10th, the mirror surrogate was lifted off the cell’s static supports with the system of hard points and pneumatic actuators that will support the weight of the mirror during telescope operations. Many LSST team members in Tucson, La Serena, and Cerro Pachón contributed to this exciting milestone, and photos of the event are available in the LSST Gallery. The filter exchange system for the LSST Camera has left IN2P3 in Paris, …

24 September 2019: Project & Science News The LSST Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA) is on the summit! The TMA was successfully transported from the port in Coquimbo to Cerro Pachón during the week following its arrival in Chile on September 7th. The 26 disassembled pieces of the TMA were transported to the summit with a fleet of 9 trucks and 12 trailers. Read more about the move in this recent news item, and view photos in the LSST Gallery. The L1-L2 lens assembly, which consists of two of the three lenses for the LSST Camera, has arrived at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory after being shipped from Arizona Optical Systems (AOS) in Tucson, AZ. The L1L2 contract was managed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and the lens assembly was built by Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado, and its subcontractor AOS in Tucson. L1, which is 1.57 meters (5.1 …

11 September 2019: Project & Science News A reminder, Daylight Saving Time began in Chile on September 8th; there is now a 4-hour difference between official LSST Project Time (Pacific Standard Time) and the time in Chile. A Joint Status Review of LSST by its funding agencies, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Department of Energy (DOE), was held in Tucson, AZ on August 27-30. Following the review, LSST Project Manager Victor Krabbendam acknowledged the hard work done by the Project team in successfully representing accomplishments and demonstrating problem-solving abilities. Subsystems are currently drafting responses to the review committee’s recommendations. A photo from the closeout report presentation is available in the LSST Gallery. The ship carrying the major components of the LSST Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA) arrived in Coquimbo, Chile on September 7th. TMA Technical Manager Shawn Callahan and LSST Principal Surveyor Michael Logue, assisted by staff in Chile, oversaw unloading …

27 August 2019: Project & Science News More than 300 participants attended the 2019 LSST Project and Community Workshop, an opportunity for LSST Project and Science Community members to network, share progress, and discuss upcoming challenges. Read more about LSST 2019, held August 12-16 in Tucson, AZ, at this link. A high-resolution version of the team photo taken at the workshop is available in the LSST Gallery. A new video promoting LSST premiered during the welcome plenary at LSST 2019. The video features footage collected from attendees at LSST 2018 as part of an ongoing Education and Public Outreach project called “StoryTime Domain.” The video can be viewed on YouTube or downloaded from the LSST Gallery. The LSST Science Advisory Committee (SAC) has reviewed the Letters of Intent that were submitted for developing community event brokers for LSST. Based on the high quality and varied science goals of these letters, all letter-writers are …

6 August 2019: Project & Science News We invite you to attend a free evening talk, “LSST and Black Holes,” on Thursday, August 15, during the LSST Project and Community Workshop (login required). Featured speakers are LSST Project Manager Victor Krabbendam, University of Arizona astrophysicist Feryal Ozel, and Northwestern University’s Raffaella Margutti. Everyone is welcome and no registration is necessary. More information and speaker bios are available at this link. After additional study, LSST has released an updated statement on the large-scale deployment of low Earth orbit satellite constellations. The updated wording can be found at this link. The LSST Auxiliary Telescope (AuxTel) achieved engineering first light on the night of July 23rd, on Cerro Pachón, with all its system components (both hardware and control software) operational, and the telescope pointed at the sky. The AuxTel still has a number of outstanding items to be completed, but this initial on-sky testing indicated that …

17 July 2019: Project & Science News Registration for the 2019 LSST Project and Community Workshop is now closed, with 301 people registered for the event. Book your hotel at this link before July 22 in order to receive the LSST 2019 room rate. Save the date: The LSST Project will host a workshop on December 2-4, 2019, in the Princeton, NJ area, on the topic of data processing for LSST. The goal of the workshop is to engage the community in the choice and development of LSST algorithms. It will include presentations from the Project on the current status of LSST algorithms and pipelines, and unconference sessions to encourage open discussion. For additional information and updates, visit the workshop webpage. Viewers enjoyed clear skies above Cerro Pachón during the total solar eclipse on July 2nd; photos taken of the eclipse over the LSST observatory are available in the LSST Gallery. The next …

25 June 2019: Project & Science News We are aware of the proposal by the United States House Science Committee to rename LSST the Vera Rubin Survey Telescope. Dr. Vera C. Rubin made significant contributions to astronomy and the advancement of women in science, and we appreciate the Committee’s recognition of her work. AURA, which has a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation to construct and operate LSST, is continuing its ongoing dialog with the agency regarding formal designations for the facility which include any direction from Congress. Just a few days remain to take advantage of early registration pricing for LSST 2019, which ends June 30th. Click here for a link to registration and to view the first draft of the meeting agenda. The LSST Commissioning Camera (ComCam) arrived at the LSST Project Office in Tucson on June 20th, after being shipped from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, where it was constructed. …