Let's Connect

  • Visit the Rubin Observatory on Facebook
  • Visit the Rubin Observatory on Instagram
  • Visit the Rubin Observatory on LinkedIn
  • Visit the Rubin Observatory on Twitter
  • Visit the Rubin Observatory on YouTube
  • Jobs Board
  • Intranet
  • Visual Identity Guide
  • Image Gallery
  • Privacy Policy

Contact us

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.

Funding agency logos
Localize site content
  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
Homepage
    • About
    • History
    • Who was Vera Rubin?
    • Construction Updates
      • Rubin in Chile
      • Cerro Pachón
      • Observatory Site Selection
      • Organization
      • Leadership
      • Science Collaborations
    • Funding Information
      • Work With Us
      • Jobs Board
    • Explore
      • How Rubin Works
      • Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST)
      • Rubin Technology
      • Alert Stream
      • Rubin Numbers
    • Science Goals
    • Rubin Voices
    • Get Involved in Rubin Research
      • Activities, Games, and More
      • Space Surveyors Game
      • Animated Video Series
      • Join Rubin Observatory’s 3200-Megapixel Group Photo!
    • Gallery
      • Main Gallery
    • Slideshows
    • Construction Archive Gallery
    • Media Use Policy
    • News
    • Press Releases
      • Rubin Observatory First Look
      • Rubin First Look Watch Parties
    • Media Resources
    • Press Releases
    • Name Guidelines
    • For Scientists
      • News, events, and deadlines
      • Rubin Science Assemblies
      • Rubin Data Academy
      • Rubin Community Workshop
      • Resources for scientists
      • Rubin Community Forum
      • Early Science Program
      • Workshops and seminars
      • Tutorials
      • LSST Discovery Alliance
      • Code of Conduct
      • Survey, instruments, and telescopes
      • Key numbers
      • The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST)
      • Instruments
      • Telescopes
      • Data products, pipelines, and services
      • Data access and analysis
      • Recent data releases
      • Alerts and brokers
      • Data processing pipelines
      • Future data products
      • Data Policy
      • Simulation software
      • Documentation and publications
      • Technical documentation
      • How to cite Rubin Observatory
      • Publication policies
      • Glossary & Acronyms
      • Science Collaborations
      • Galaxies Science Collaboration
      • Stars, Milky Way, and Local Volume Science Collaboration
      • Solar System Science Collaboration
      • Dark Energy Science Collaboration
      • Active Galactic Nuclei Science Collaboration
      • Transients and Variable Stars Science Collaboration
      • Strong Lensing Science Collaboration
      • Informatics and Statistics Science Collaboration
    • Citizen Science
      • Committees and teams
      • Science Advisory Committee (SAC)
      • Survey Cadence Optimization Committee (SCOC)
      • Users Committee
      • Community Science Team (CST)
      • Research Inclusion Working Group (RIWG)
      • Project Science Team (PST)
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Education
    • Education FAQs
    • Educators
    • Glossary
    • Investigations
    • Calendar
Localize site content