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The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science will support Rubin Observatory in its operations phase to carry out the Legacy Survey of Space and Time. They will also provide support for scientific research with the data. During operations, NSF funding is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with NSF, and DOE funding is managed by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), under contract by DOE. Rubin Observatory is operated by NSF NOIRLab and SLAC.

NSF is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science. NSF supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.

The DOE Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

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  2. How Rubin Works

How Rubin Works

Rubin Observatory will revolutionize the way we explore the cosmos. Using the largest camera ever built to repeatedly scan the sky for 10 years, Rubin will produce an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition, time-lapse view of our Universe. Learn how Rubin works below!

Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST)

Rubin Observatory will take hundreds of images of the Southern Hemisphere sky, every night for ten years, for a survey called the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).

Learn more

Powered by innovative technology

Rubin Observatory is packed with innovative technology, from a one-of-a-kind combined primary/tertiary mirror to the largest camera ever built. Explore the technology that makes Rubin science possible.

Explore the technology

The Alert Stream

Rubin will detect millions of changes in the southern sky every night, and issue a world-public alert for each change within minutes, allowing scientists to quickly follow up.

Learn about the Alert Stream

Key Numbers

Primary mirror diameter
8.4
meters
Secondary mirror diameter
3.5
meters
Field of View
3.5º
(10 degrees2)
LSST Camera height
1.65
meters
LSST Camera length
3.65
meters
LSST Camera resolution
3200
Megapixels
Generated data volume
20TB
per night
Stars & galaxies detected
37billion
in total
Number of alerts
10million
per night
More key numbers

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