Announcements 2025

2 May 2025: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines an observatory as “a building or place designed or equipped for observing natural phenomena (as in astronomy) and an institution whose primary purpose is making such observations.” As the construction of NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory nears completion, there are many reasons to celebrate: The successful conclusion of a decade-long construction project, featuring a telescope with a unique optical design and the largest camera ever built for astronomy; The beginning of a ten-year survey of the southern sky (the Legacy Survey of Space and Time) that will ultimately generate a staggering 500 petabytes of data; The implementation of a sophisticated, global high-speed network to transfer, process, store, and distribute these data. These accomplishments are impressive in their own right, but none would have been possible without the people who collaborated for years to bring this vision to life. In fact, one might argue that the alternate …

28 April 2025: Project and Science News The Rubin team took the first on-sky engineering data with the LSST Camera on April 15th, shortly after darkness fell on Cerro Pachón. The first images were taken with the i-band filter. Thanks to Rubin’s successful on-sky campaign using the Commissioning Camera, the telescope optical alignments were remarkably close to optimal before even looking at the sky. Along with the excellent initial performance of the full Observatory optical system, the LSST Camera, its supporting refrigeration equipment, and the data acquisition and control systems all demonstrated smooth operation, just a few weeks after installation. The Data Management system successfully transported and processed the 3-gigapixel images at the US Data Facility within about a minute of acquiring the exposures. More details about this achievement are available on community.lsst.org, and photos of Rubin’s various distributed teams celebrating the event are available in the Gallery. During the upcoming period of …

24 April 2025: We are pleased to announce that Scott Dahm has been appointed Director of the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab. He will relocate to the island of Hawai’i in July of this year. In February 2024 former Gemini director Jennifer Lotz left to become Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute. Dahm, who was serving as the Gemini Deputy Director at the time, was appointed Interim Director for Gemini while a search was conducted. In the spring of 2024, NOIRLab assembled an international search committee with members from the Gemini partner countries, including Canada, Korea, and the U.S., along with people working in Hawai’i and Chile. Most of the committee members were in observatory leadership positions and two were affiliated with the Gemini Observatory. The committee conducted a worldwide search and considered a large number of potential candidates. Dahm …

24 April 2025: The NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory and its partners are excited be announcing the release of the first images at the First Look unveiling event June 23 at 11:00 am EDT with a public livestream (in English and Spanish). During the First Look event, the comprehensive press release will be published, featuring a large set of ultra-high-definition images and videos showcasing Rubin’s extraordinary capabilities to the world for the first time. This will mark the beginning of a new era in astronomy, and we invite you to take part (sign up using this form). NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science (DOE/SC). Rubin Observatory is a joint Program of NSF NOIRLab and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), who will cooperatively operate Rubin. Rubin First Look Watch Parties are expected to take place around …

21 April 2025: International Dark Sky Week (IDSW) is taking place from 21 to 28 April 2025. This week serves as both an annual celebration of the beauty and significance of Earth’s night sky, and a major push for its preservation. This announcement highlights the many ways that you can get involved! During this Dark Sky Week, NSF NOIRLab, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, and co-sponsor DarkSky International encourage you to get involved with their international citizen-science program, Globe at Night. This program invites everybody to contribute to dark sky protection by submitting night sky brightness measurements to a global database in a simple and accessible way. Since launching 19 years ago, Globe at Night has collected over 200,000 citizen-submitted data points. This robust dataset is serving as an invaluable resource to scientists studying the effects of light pollution on Earth. Light pollution is the excessive use of man-made lighting that …

4 April 2025: In an alignment of celestial bodies, Mars was captured here rising out of a lunar occultation on 13 January 2025 using the new Visitor Center 0.6-meter Shreve Telescope at the U.S. National Science Foundation Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab, near Tucson, Arizona. An occultation is when an object becomes hidden from an observer’s view by another object passing between them. The passing object must be larger than the hidden object. Otherwise the event is a transit, such as the transit of Mercury in front of the Sun in 2019, as photographed from NSF Cerro Tololo International Observatory (CTIO), another Program of NSF NOIRLab. Read more

4 April 2025: While NOIRLab works to unravel the secrets of the Universe, you can start your own journey to explore the night sky right from your backyard. There are plenty of celestial events for skywatchers to observe every month. Below are some highlights. If you’d like to explore more on your own, we recommend Stellarium, which has a web interface and app. Note: Never look directly at the Sun through binoculars or a telescope, or with your unaided eyes. Serious eye damage can occur. 1–2 April: The Moon dances with M45 and Jupiter Between 1 and 2 April, a crescent Moon will move from a spot near the Pleiades star cluster (M45) to Jupiter. 5 April: Martian Moon Mars and the Moon will appear very close to each other high in the sky. 24 April: Early morning planet party Just before sunrise, Venus, Saturn, and Mercury can be spotted hanging out near …

4 April 2025: Professional Development Opportunities 23 April, Behind the Scenes: Exploding Stars Time: 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. MST Location: Online Webinar, Register Here Description: The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is introducing a series of webinars for current or future users of Rubin Observatory investigations. Each one-hour webinar in the series is designed to: Gain a better understanding of the science behind the topic Give insight into the details of the authentic data analysis process Highlight student misconceptions or learning confusions Demonstrate tips for how to use the widgets Provide an opportunity for you to ask questions The first webinar of the series, Behind the Scenes: Exploding Stars, will take place on 23 April and will be recorded. The webinar will be in English. Community Events Arizona 16 April, STEM Family Night Location: San Xavier Education Center, Tucson, AZ Time: 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. MST Description: All families are welcome …

4 April 2025: In celebration of 25 years since first light observations with the International Gemini Observatory, students in Hawaiʻi and Chile have a unique opportunity to participate in an exciting imaging contest! To kick off the contest, students are invited to vote on the astronomical object that will be imaged by the Gemini South telescope on Cerro Pachón in Chile or the Gemini North telescope located near the summit of Maunakea in Hawaiʻi. To help students make an informed choice, educators will be provided with resources about different types of celestial objects including a slide deck, lesson plans, and educational resources. In both Hawaiʻi and Chile students will have the opportunity to engage with the observation process via activities such as internships or visits to the Base Facility Control Room. In Chile students will be able to participate in a short essay contest and the most creative essay will win a visit …

4 April 2025: To celebrate National Day of Astronomy on 21 March, NSF NOIRLab and AURA, in partnership with Biblioteca Regional Gabriela Mistral and Proyecto Explora Coquimbo, hosted AstroDay Chile — an entire day packed with family-friendly activities at the Gabriela Mistral Regional Library. Since 2007, AstroDay Chile has been one of the most prominent outreach programs in the Coquimbo region. Over 2000 people attended this year’s AstroDay Chile event, where they explored the latest scientific breakthroughs from NOIRLab’s Chile-based observatories and learned about public visit programs. Visitors also connected with experts from other leading observatories, universities, and organizations, such as InnovaSteam, which sparked curiosity about STEAM careers and promoted 21st-century learning and technology. NOIRLab Astronomers captivated audiences with talks on exciting research happening at the observatories. They highlighted the cutting-edge capabilities of the world’s largest digital camera at NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory located on Cerro Pachón in Chile. This instrument will …

4 April 2025: Astronomers have made a new discovery in the world of novae: a phenomenon that can be thought of as erupting “zombie stars.” High-mass stars end their lives in an explosive event called a supernova, while low-mass stars typically fade into white dwarfs. However, a white dwarf in a binary system, gravitationally bound to another star still fusing elements in its core, can also experience a dramatic end-of-life event called a nova. White dwarfs bound to living stars can accrete mass from their partners. This process creates an atmosphere on the white dwarf and can eventually generate enough heat to reignite the fusion process in the once-dead star, creating a sort of “zombie star.” However, the star’s return to life does not last forever. This reignition expels the new atmosphere in an extremely bright event known as a nova. Almost all known novae have erupted only once. However, a small group …

4 April 2025: This month marks an exciting point in the progress of astronomy technology: the largest camera ever designed for astronomical observations will open its eye on the Universe for the first time. The NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory LSST Camera was successfully installed on the Simonyi Survey Telescope in early March. It is now in the last phase of testing before capturing its long-awaited and highly anticipated First Look images, followed by the start of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). This achievement results from over a decade of dedicated work by a global team of scientists and engineers. NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science (DOE/SC). Rubin Observatory is a joint Program of NSF NOIRLab and DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. NSF NOIRLab is managed by the Association of Universities for …

2 April 2025: Project and Science News Registration for the 2025 Rubin Community Workshop, to be held in Tucson July 28 - August 1, is now open. Please visit the meeting website for more information and a link to register. Since the LSST Camera was installed on the telescope in early March, the team on the summit has made good progress testing and preparing the camera to go on-sky later this month. The pumped chiller system (which cools the raft electronics) has reached -40°C, and both the cryo refrigeration system (which cools the camera's CCDs) and the CCDs will be turned on this week. Testing of the camera shutter and filter exchange system are also ongoing. The summit team conducted dome endurance tests on March 27th, focusing on evaluating the performance of the dome’s capacitor banks. The test began with a long 30-degree slew, during which telemetry data was successfully recorded in the …

26 March 2025: The Kitt Peak Visitor Center at the U.S. National Science Foundation Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab, welcomes the newest addition to its public telescope collection, the 0.6-meter Shreve Telescope. The telescope was part of a generous private donation from the late advanced amateur astronomer Gary Shreve, of Brisbane Valley Observatory in California. It has been installed in the Visitor Center dome enclosure, where it replaced an older, less capable 0.5-meter telescope. The Shreve telescope's optical design, a Ritchey-Chrétien Cassegrain, features hyperbolic mirrors designed to eliminate visual distortions. The telescope was made by Optical Guidance Systems and purchased by Shreve roughly twenty years ago. Additions to the scope were provided by Astronomical Consultants & Equipment, Inc. and include motorized guidance, a filter wheel, and a mechanical dust cover. With a field of view nearly the size of the full Moon, the 0.6-meter is a worthy upgrade …

19 March 2025: The Italian QUantum Eye (IQUEYE), a new visiting instrument at Gemini South, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab, has seen first light. IQUEYE is an extremely powerful photometer with superb potential for observing astronomical objects that vary in time at fast rates, such as pulsars, blazars, and magnetars. Photometers allow astronomers to observe distant objects in the Universe by collecting the stream of photons (the fundamental particle of light) emitted by the object. What sets IQUEYE apart from other photometers is that it detects one single photon at a time. As the photons flow in, each one is individually tagged with its arrival time. This single photon-counting method allows IQUEYE to make precise time measurements that are accurate to as little as 0.5 nanoseconds. The instrument team, led by Tomás Cassanelli (Universidad de Chile), Giampiero Naletto …

19 March 2025: Project and Science News The LSST Camera was successfully installed on the Simonyi Survey Telescope in early March, and the news was announced to the public on March 12th through a joint NSF–DOE press release. The LSST Camera was the final major component to be installed, and this exciting milestone marks the completion of the full and final optical system. Rubin Observatory is now in its final phase of testing, with on-sky observations starting soon. Registration for the 2025 Rubin Community Workshop, to be held in Tucson July 28 - August 1, is now open. Please visit the meeting website for more information and a link to register. Rubin leadership and staff joined representatives from Rubin’s operating partners and funding agencies in Washington, DC on March 3-4 for the fourth and final in-person coordination workshop to discuss Rubin First Look — the first public release of Rubin images scheduled for …

10 March 2025: As part of the celebrations of the National Day of Astronomy, NSF NOIRLab, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, and AURA, in partnership with Proyecto Explora Coquimbo, are hosting AstroDay Chile — an entire day packed with family-friendly activities on 21 March at 10:00 a.m. CLST. AstroDay Chile is an amazing opportunity to discover the latest scientific breakthroughs and advancements from NOIRLab’s Chile-based observatories. It’s also an opportunity to hear about the many public visit programs they offer and how to reserve a free visit to Cerro Pachón and Cerro Tololo. European Southern Observatory (ESO) and Carnegie Science observatories will also be present. Universities like Universidad de La Serena, Universidad Central, and Universidad Católica de Valparaíso will join the celebration, along with students and academics representing fields related to astronomy. These experts will be available to talk with the public and answer questions from students interested in scientific careers. …

5 March 2025: Project & Science News On the summit, the Camera team removed the lens cover of the LSST Camera, cleaned the primary lens (L1), and replaced the cover on February 19th. This video shows technician Claudio Araya spraying the camera lens with CO2 "snow," which pushes the dust off and then evaporates without leaving any residue. The same equipment and technique is also used to clean the mirrors for the Simonyi Survey Telescope and the Rubin Auxiliary Telescope. See a video of the camera lens cleaning on YouTube. As reported in the last Digest, the Camera team mounted the LSST Camera on the camera rotator in early February. Since then, the team has been conducting off-telescope rotation tests, which are featured in another new video on YouTube. LSSTCam will be installed on the telescope very soon, keep an eye on rubinobservatory.org and our social media channels for this news. On-sky observations …

3 March 2025: The Milky Way shares the stage with a luminous bubble of green and orange airglow in this panoramic image of Gemini North, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by NSF NOIRLab. Gemini North (right) is accompanied here by the Canada-France-Hawai‘i Telescope (CFHT) (left). In this image, you could remove all of the stars, the brilliant stripe of the Milky Way, and the nearby city lights of Hilo, Hawai‘i (far left), and you would still be left with a picture that isn’t completely dark. This is thanks to the persistent light of airglow. Read More

3 March 2025: While NOIRLab works to unravel the secrets of the Universe, you can start your own journey to explore the night sky right from your backyard. There are plenty of celestial events for skywatchers to observe every month. Below are some highlights. If you’d like to explore more on your own, we recommend Stellarium, which has a web interface and app. 1 March: Three planets hang out with the Moon After sunset, look for Venus and Mercury near the sliver of a crescent Moon. Venus will be the brighter planet. Saturn will also be hanging out low on the horizon, but it may get lost in the Sun’s glare. Jupiter and Mars will also be visible. 5 March: Pointing the way to the Seven Sisters After sunset, look for Mars, Jupiter, and the Moon roughly lined up with the star cluster M45, also known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. Venus …