Rubin Digest 06 August 2024

7 August 2024

Project & Science News

The Rubin Community Workshop (Rubin 2024) took place July 22-26 at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, CA and was a big success. This year’s meeting was fully hybrid, with about 200 people attending in person and an additional ~250 participating in virtual sessions. Read a summary of the meeting at this link. The group photo is available for download here.

The summit team achieved a major milestone on July 24th with the installation of the glass secondary mirror assembly on the telescope mount. This marks the successful integration of the first permanent component of the telescope’s optical system. The Rubin team issued a press release to announce the event. 

The first Data Management (DM) Standards Review was held at SLAC on July 29-30. The review committee commended the Rubin DM team on their strategy and approach to meeting requirements, and initiated productive discussions with DM team members. The committee’s formal report is expected in the coming weeks. See a group photo from the review in the Gallery.

Rubin in the Media

An article highlighting Rubin Observatory that features Erin Howard, a member of Rubin’s Data Management team, was originally published in the Kitsap Sun and later distributed via Yahoo News. Read interviews with Erin and Bob Abel (DiRAC) in “Meet the Olympic College grad working on the groundbreaking Vera C. Rubin Observatory.”

LSST Discovery Alliance News

Please fill out this science community survey to let LSST Discovery Alliance know what you need to conduct your scientific research with LSST data. We will use your input to pursue funding and to develop programs that will maximize the scientific impact of LSST. Your response matters!

Operations Updates

The Operations team is recovering after organizing and participating in the Rubin Community Workshop on July 22-26. Thanks to the Rubin Program Operations and SLAC organizing teams, and everyone else who helped make the meeting a success. Recordings are individually linked from sessions on the meeting agenda and are also publicly available as a playlist on YouTube. 

Personnel Announcements & Opportunities:

Steve Pothier joined the Telescope and Site Software team as Software Engineer on July 25th. Based in Tucson, Steve will be working on Rubin’s project-wide logging system.

Valerie Becker also joined the Telescope and Site Software team as Full-stack DevOps Python Developer on July 29th. Valerie will be based in Tucson, working on various databases and related services.

Visit the Rubin hiring page to see all open positions with Rubin. 

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):

2024

August 6-15	International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly, Cape Town, South Africa
September 16-20	LSST@Europe6, La Palma, Spain*
September 25-27	LSST Solar System Readiness Sprint, Oxford, UK*
November 6-8	AURA Management Council for Rubin Observatory (AMCR) Meeting, La Serena, Chile
November 10-14	Astronomical Data Analysis Software & Systems (ADASS), Malta
November 11-15	XIX Chilean Astronomical Society (SOCHIAS) Annual Meeting, Arica, Chile