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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.

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  1. For Scientists
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  3. Data Policy

Data Policy

Policies that apply to the access, analysis, and publication of Rubin data are described in full in the Data Policy document.

Go to the Data Policy document.

Rubin data rights holders

US scientists who are employed or enrolled at a US educational or research institution.

Chilean scientists, professionals, and students as defined by SOCHIAS.

Named members of international in-kind teams.

A grace period is available for junior researchers who lose data rights by moving institutions.

No reserved science: all types of scientific endeavors are equally open to all individuals with data rights.

Public and proprietary data products

A public data product can be shared with anyone, anywhere, worldwide.

Alert packets and the contents of the Prompt Products Database are public.

A proprietary data product can only be accessed and analyzed by Rubin data rights holders.

Prompt processed images and the annual data releases have a proprietary period of two years.

Data access and computational resources

Rubin Science Platform accounts may be held by Rubin data rights holders only. The Rubin Science Platform provides access to the public and proprietary data sets, as well as computational resources for data analysis.

No access to public (including post-proprietary) data sets is provided by Rubin Observatory for individuals who do not have Rubin data rights.

Collaboration with derived data products

Data rights holders may create and share "derived data products" to enable collaboration with colleagues without data rights, provided these products cannot be used to recreate any proprietary data.

Data rights holders may share limited target lists for small samples of LSST objects to facilitate collaboration, such as follow-up observations at other telescopes.

Individuals without data rights may co-author papers that publish analyses of proprietary data products, but this does not grant them access to that data.

Rubin data policy quick reference slide deck

Questions?

Find details in the Rubin Data Policy document, linked at the top of this page.

Questions are welcome in the Support category of the Rubin Community Forum.

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