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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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  1. For Scientists
  2. Data products, pipelines, and services
  3. Data access and analysis

Data access and analysis

The three main ways to access and analyze Rubin data are the Rubin Science Platform, Alert Brokers, and Independent Data Access Centers.

Rubin Science Platform (RSP)

The RSP is a web-based service for access and analysis of LSST data.

Go to the RSP's technical documentation.

Who can get an RSP account.

  • All Rubin data rights holders may create an account and use the RSP.
How to get an RSP account.
  • Follow these instructions to create a new account.

Which data sets are served via the RSP.

  • The Prompt Products Database, including light curves and moving objects.
  • The last two annual Data Releases, including observation metadata.

The RSP's three aspects offer a range of functionality.

  • Portal: a graphical, browser-based interface for data discovery and visualization.
  • Notebook: a Jupyter lab interface for scripted data access and analysis.
  • API: remote access based on IVOA Virtual Observatory standards; API stands for Application Programming Interface.
Log in to the Rubin Science Platform.

Alert brokers

Alerts are packets of data for time-domain astronomical events (e.g., variable stars, explosive transients, moving objects). Alert brokers are independent software systems that filter and analyze the alert packets, and provide access to them via user interfaces. Alerts are transmitted by Rubin Observatory to alert brokers within 60 seconds of every new image obtained during the night.

For science goals that rely on real-time analysis and follow-up of time-domain events, it is necessary to access alerts via brokers.

Learn more about alerts and brokers.

Independent Data Access Centers (IDACs)

IDACs are data centers that serve LSST data sets in full or in part, but are not developed or maintained by Rubin staff and are not funded by the Rubin operations budget.

IDACs are typically motivated by one of the following descriptions.

  • Serve other data sets, proprietary or public, alongside Rubin data.
  • Host specific software, proprietary or public, for analysis of Rubin data.
  • Provide hardware or computational resources, such as GPUs, for (re-)processing Rubin data.
  • Support a more narrow range of science goals or geographic user base.

Read more about the motivation for IDACs in "Supporting Computational Science with Rubin LSST", RTN-060.

Resources for IDAC developers

  • "Guidelines for Rubin Independent Data Access Centers", RTN-003
  • "Proposed Policy for Independent Data Access Centers", LPM-251

Resources for IDAC users

  • In development.


Questions?

Rubin Community Forum

Ask questions, get help, report bugs or errors, and join in discussions about Rubin Observatory and its data products, pipelines, and services.

Go to the Rubin Community Forum