HOME CENTERS NEWS ABOUT RESOURCES CAREERS DIVERSITY Vera C. Rubin Observatory HomeCentersNOIRLabVera C. Rubin Observatory Twilight photo of Rubin Observatory taken in April 2021. Credit: Rubin Obs./NSF/AURA Vera C. Rubin Observatory, currently under construction on Cerro Pachón in Chile, features an 8.4-meter telescope, a 3200 megapixel Camera, an automated data processing system, and an online public engagement platform. Rubin Observatory will advance science in four main areas: the nature of dark matter and understanding dark energy, cataloging the Solar System, exploring the changing sky, and Milky Way structure and formation. Rubin Observatory will operate on an automated cadence, capturing an area the size of 40 full moons with each pair of 15-second exposures and returning to the same area of sky approximately every three nights. Over ten years of operations, hundreds of deep exposures will be acquired for every part of the visible sky. Dedicated computer facilities will process Rubin Observatory data in real time, issuing worldwide alerts within 60 seconds of detected changes in the sky. Prompt and data release products will be available to all U.S. and Chilean astronomers, and to Rubin Observatory’s in-kind contributors. A subset of data will be widely available through the Rubin Observatory Education and Public Outreach (EPO) dynamic website portal, offering tools and activities for formal educators, citizen scientists, informal science centers, and the general public to engage, explore, and discover. Rubin Observatory was the top-ranked large ground-based project in the 2010 Astrophysics Decadal Survey. Engineering first light is anticipated in 2020, followed by science first light in 2021 and full operations for the ten-year survey commencing in October 2022. When operations begin, Rubin Observatory will be coordinated and managed by NSF’s NOIRLab. The Rubin Observatory was the top-ranked large ground-based project in the 2010 Astrohysics Decadal Survey. Engineering first light is anticipated in 2020, followed by science first light in 2021 and full operations for a ten-year survey commencing in October 2022. AURA operates the Vera C. Rubin Observatory for the National Science Foundation under a cooperative agreement. Visit the Rubin Observatory Website Follow AURA Contact: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20004 Tel: (202) 483-2101 Fax: (202) 483-2106 info@aura-astronomy.org Search Search... HOME CENTERS ABOUT CAREERS DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION MEDIA PRIVACY POLICY EMPLOYEE PORTAL STAFF DIRECTORY © 2020 Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok