Rubin Digest 19 December 2024

20 December 2024

Project and Science News

Rubin has had a busy and eventful year, and 2024 is drawing to a close.  We wish everyone a safe and restful holiday to prepare for next year, and for the approaching finish line of Rubin Construction. We hope you enjoy Rubin’s 2024 holiday card.

We hope to see many of you at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) winter meeting (AAS 245) in National Harbor, MD on January 12-16. The Rubin Town Hall is scheduled for Tuesday, January 14th. Rubin will also be presenting a panel for media and science writers during the meeting, please check the AAS schedule for the date and time. And don’t forget to stop by Rubin’s exhibit booth (#105A in the NSF Pavilion)! 

Rubin leadership and staff joined representatives from NOIRLab, AURA, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science for a productive workshop on December 10-11 in Tucson, AZ, to discuss and collaborate on communications efforts and high-profile events that will accompany the first public release of Rubin images in mid-2025. If your organization is planning activities around Rubin’s first image release and you want to coordinate with us, please complete the form at ls.st/jom.

The Commissioning team conducted the final night of the on-sky observing campaign with the Rubin Commissioning Camera overnight on December 11-12. The team has been working 24/7 on this phase of commissioning for seven weeks, and they took some time to celebrate their achievement with a small party at the summit. The group is now focusing on documenting the lessons learned during the campaign that will benefit their work with the LSST Camera next year. Additional technical updates about on-sky commissioning activities using the Commissioning Camera are available on the Rubin Community Forum and the #commissioning-updates Slack channel. 

Operations Updates

Happy Holidays from the Operations Team! We are continually inspired by the dedication and contributions of the Rubin community, which make this project truly exceptional. As we close out the year, we’re filled with excitement for the journey ahead — 2025 promises transformative science with Rubin Observatory and the LSST Camera. Thank you for being an integral part of this incredible project.

The virtual Rubin Science Assemblies will restart on Thursday, January 9th, with a new series of rotating hands-on tutorials and open drop-in office hours every week at 9 a.m. PT.

Reminder: If you plan to work with Rubin Data in the future, we encourage you to sign up for an account on the Rubin Science Platform now. This will allow you to get familiar with the interface, work out any issues, and get your data rights verified by the project so you can be sure to get data immediately when Data Preview 1 (DP1) is released. Rubin Data Rights holders can sign up for an account any time by following the instructions here. 

Personnel Announcements & Opportunities:

Nora Robledo joined the Rubin Operations team on December 2nd as Senior Administrative Coordinator, based in Tucson. Nora will be responsible for administrative tasks to support all departments and the Directors Office.

Kristopher Mortensen joined the Observing team as an Observing Specialist on December 2nd. Based in Chile, Kristopher will be responsible for operating and troubleshooting the Simonyi Survey Telescope and Rubin Auxiliary Telescope systems on the summit. 

Open positions with Rubin can be found on the Rubin hiring page.

Info for Project Members:

Nominate someone deserving for a future staff award on the Staff Awards page on the Project website (login required).

If you’d like to schedule a one-on-one meeting with Victor or Zeljko, please fill out this form to indicate your preferred date and time. 

The link to Rubin’s anonymous “suggestion box” will be changing soon, until a new link is announced please contact our Workplace Culture Advocates (login required) with your suggestions. 

Rubin Observatory swag items, including t-shirts, coffee mugs, tote bags, and more, are available for purchase in our not-for-profit online store. 

Upcoming Meetings with Rubin Observatory Involvement

(those with an asterisk* are supported by LSST Discovery Alliance): 

2025

January 12-16	American Astronomical Society (AAS 245) Winter Meeting, National Harbor, MD
January 14	Rubin Town Hall at AAS 245
February 18-21	Dark Energy Science Collaboration (DESC) Meeting, virtual
February 24	DESC Sprint Day
March 18-25	NSF Research Infrastructure Workshop, El Segundo, CA
July 21-25	Dark Energy Science Collaboration (DESC) Meeting, Urbana-Champaign, IL & virtual
July 28-August 1	Rubin Community Workshop 2025, Tucson, AZ