COSMOS MAGAZINE
Astronomy experts and enthusiasts around the world watched on with glee as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory as it released its first images of space, heralding new discoveries about the universe.
Windows 98 Windows 95 GIF
Windows 98 Windows 95 GIF
This image combines 678 separate images taken by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in just over seven hours of observing time. Combining many images in this way clearly reveals otherwise faint or invisible details, such as the clouds of gas and dust that comprise the Trifid nebula (top) and the Lagoon nebula, which are several thousand light-years away from Earth. Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
This image shows a small section of NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s total view of the Virgo cluster. Visible are two prominent spiral galaxies (lower right), three merging galaxies (upper right), several groups of distant galaxies, many stars in the Milky Way galaxy and more. NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
Perched 2,647 metres above sea level on Cerro Pachón in the Chilean Andes, the giant telescope will observe the skies for a decade. It will capture a timelapse of deep space, offering an unprecedented view of the entire southern hemisphere’s sky every three days.
Credit: Hernan Stockebrand
Windows 98 Windows 95 GIF
Windows 98 Windows 95 GIF
Rubin’s standout feature is the 3.2-billion-pixel LSST camera —the world’s most powerful —equipped with an 8m mirror and three lenses. For comparison, an iPhone has a 48-megapixel camera.
Credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/DOE/NSF/AURA/W. O'Mullane
Windows 98 Windows 95 GIF
Windows 98 Windows 95 GIF
Credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/DOE/NSF/AURA/W. O'Mullane
The observatory is named after pioneering American astronomer Vera Florence Cooper Rubin whose work on galaxy rotation provided the first direct evidence for the existence of dark matter.
Windows 98 Windows 95 GIF
Windows 98 Windows 95 GIF
Vera Rubin at Kitt Peak National Observatory in 1963 operating the observatory's No.1. 36-inch telescope. Credit: Wikimedia Commons..
Windows 98 Windows 95 GIF
Windows 98 Windows 95 GIF