The University of Washington has played a crucial role in the completion of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, a project that has been in the works for over 20 years. Now, UW astronomers are preparing to embark on a decade of groundbreaking discoveries as part of the observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time. This article delves into the university’s past involvement, current contributions, and future prospects within the realm of astronomical research.
It’s been more than two decades since the University of Washington helped kick off the effort to get the Vera C. Rubin Observatory built in Chile — and now that it’s finished, UW astronomers are gearing up to get in on the first decade of discoveries.
The university’s role in the past, present and future of the Rubin Observatory and its 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time, or LSST, literally took center stage in front of a packed house at UW’s Kane Hall on Thursday night.
UW astronomer Zeljko Ivezic, who served as director of Rubin construction and is shifting his focus to his role as head of science operations for LSST, recalled the night of April 15, when Rubin’s first test images came in for fine-tuning.
“We were all so happy, and we are still happy,” he said. “We had been dreaming about this night for two decades, and it finally arrived. And not only that, we quickly obtained beautiful data, but also we continued to do so, and every new image was better and better. The observatory is performing beyond all our expectations.”
Ivezic showed off the images of swirling galaxies and colorful nebulas that he first unveiled earlier in the week at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. And he talked up an online tool called Skyviewer that allows users to click around the observatory’s 3,200-megapixel images and zoom in on details.
“It’s an easy-to-use app,” he told the audience. “When you go home tonight, then you can spend the next few hours just going around. Turn off the light in your room and then look at your screen, and it will be fantastic.”
