On Monday 23rd June, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will be revealing the very first images from the newest and biggest astrophysics survey telescope ever constructed. To help share this event, worldwide watch parties have been set up and we’re having one in Bath. It starts at 3:30pm on 23rd June and will follow the live release streamed from Washington DC and the introduction, explanation and discussion by the expert scientists who created the telescope and now operate it.
The Watch Party will run 90 minutes until 5pm. The venue is Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (BRLSI), 16-18 Queen Square, Bath.
The event is open to everyone and entry is free. Just register to claim a seat and ensure we know how many are coming.
Mike Silva and Margaux Lopez pose with the LSST Camera, which arrived at Rubin Observatory on May 16th, 2024. The 3200-megapixel LSST Camera is the largest digital camera in the world, and it will soon be installed on the Simonyi Survey Telescope at Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. When Rubin begins the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) in late 2025, the LSST Camera will take detailed images of the southern hemisphere sky for 10 years, building the most comprehensive timelapse view of our Universe we’ve ever seen. Using the LSST Camera, Rubin Observatory will fuel advances — and brand new discoveries — in many science areas, including exploring the nature of dark matter and dark energy, mapping the Milky Way, surveying our Solar System, and studying celestial objects that change in brightness or position.
Why celebrate the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s first images?
It is going to revolutionise observational astronomy! Simple really.
Every 3 days it’ll image the entire night sky in the southern hemisphere and compare to previous baseline images. In doing so, it’ll raise the 100 or so changes noticed every night by current astronomer observations to 10,000,000 changes per night. It’ll find:
New supernovae
New novae
New asteroids
New planets
New blackhole micro lensing
New and existing variable stars
Eclipsing stars
and aliens in orbit
At first glance, it might appear as though this image was taken during the day, with the deep blue sky arching over Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab. On closer inspection, however, a sprinkling of stars is visible throughout the sky, revealing that it was actually taken at night, by the light of the Moon. The brightening of the sky is due to the artificial light from areas densely populated by humans, which can be seen as clusters of bright lights on the horizon. The light from the cities is so obvious in this image because the photographer used a long exposure time. If you were to visit this spot in person then the night sky would actually be very dark, and the stars would be far more visible. In fact, one of the reasons why Rubin Observatory’s location on the Cerro Pachón ridge in north-central Chile is so ideal for astronomical observations is the lack of light pollution in the area. Rubin Observatory is a joint initiative of the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy (DOE). Rubin will be operated jointly by NSF NOIRLab and DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to carry out the Legacy Survey of Space and Time.
We use cookies to provide you with a better service. Carry on browsing if you're happy with this, or read more in our Privacy Policy.
