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What is Rubin Observatory?

NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, is a brand new astronomy and astrophysics facility under construction on Cerro Pachón in Chile, with first light expected in 2025. It’s named after astronomer Vera Rubin, who provided the first convincing evidence for the existence of dark matter.

Rubin Observatory is the first of its kind: its mirror design, camera sensitivity, telescope speed, and computing infrastructure are each in an entirely new category.

The 8.4-meter Simonyi Survey Telescope at Rubin Observatory, equipped with the LSST Camera — the largest digital camera ever built — will take detailed images of the southern hemisphere sky for 10 years, covering the entire sky every few nights and creating an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition, time-lapse record — the largest astronomical movie of all time. This unique movie will bring the night sky to life, yielding a treasure trove of discoveries: asteroids and comets, pulsating stars, and supernova explosions.

With Rubin data we will gain a better understanding of our Universe, delve into the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter, and reveal answers to questions we have yet to imagine.