Dazzling first images from Vera C. Rubin Observatory

The observatory is named in honour of a trailblazing US astronomer who discovered evidence for dark matter. Conceived in the 1990s, it is the first of its kind: its mirror design, camera size and sensitivity, telescope speed, and computing infrastructure are each in an entirely new category.

Over the next 10 years, researchers will perform the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) using the observatory’s LSST Camera, the largest digital camera ever built, and its 8.4 metre Simonyi Survey Telescope.

By mapping the large-scale structures of the universe, the survey aims to help us better understand dark matter and dark energy - invisible, mysterious entities that make up most of the matter of the universe.

In addition, by repeatedly scanning the sky for ten years, the observatory should deliver a treasure trove of discoveries: asteroids and comets, pulsating stars, and star explosions, as well as billions of distant galaxies. Science operations are expected to start towards the end of 2025.

At UCL, researchers at Mullard Space Science Laboratory have developed AI to classify the millions of exploding stars (supernovae) that Rubin will observe.

Another team at UCL Physics & Astronomy has helped to develop new ways to estimate galaxy distances based on observable properties such as colours.

Professor Jason McEwen, based at UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory, said: “Rubin is about to change the way we see the Universe. It will find millions of exploding stars – supernovae – that can help us understand dark energy, one of the biggest mysteries in science.

“But this data deluge presents a major challenge: it’s no longer feasible for humans to inspect each event individually. To meet this challenge, we’ve developed AI methods based on transformer architectures – the same technology behind today’s large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT – to automatically classify supernovae and unlock the secrets of dark energy hidden in the data.”

Responding to Rubin’s newly released image of the Virgo cluster of galaxies, Professor Benjamin Joachimi (UCL Physics & Astronomy) said: “The beautiful galaxies in the foreground of this image all live in our immediate cosmic neighbourhood. 

“We are much more excited about the many unassuming small blobs of light filling the background: most of these are also galaxies, just much further away from Earth. Together, they trace the large-scale distribution of matter in the Universe, which is shaped by the properties of dark matter and dark energy.”

 “Our research determines distances to these billions of faint galaxies, which allows us to create a 3D view of the cosmos.”

Dr Ellen Hang (UCL Physics & Astronomy), co-ordinator of a team that has created a large software package for determining galaxy distances, said: “We need to pin down distances to much better than 1% on average. Our code is now running as part of the huge data processing effort of Rubin observatory.”

The observatory is a joint initiative of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. The UK is the second largest international contributor to the multinational project, with the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) providing £23 million.

This has enabled UK astronomers and software developers, including the teams at UCL, to prepare the hardware and software needed to analyse the survey’s petabytes of data.

Professor Bob Mann of the University of Edinburgh, who is the LSST:UK Project Leader, said: “UK researchers have been contributing to the scientific and technical preparation for the Rubin LSST for more than ten years. These exciting First Look images show that everything is working well and reassure us that we have a decade’s worth of wonderful data coming our way, with which UK astronomers will do great science.”

The UK is also playing a significant role in the management and processing of the unprecedented amounts of data that Rubin will produce. The UK will host one of three international data facilities and process around 1.5 million images, capturing around 10 billion stars and galaxies.

The amount of data gathered by Rubin Observatory in its first year alone will be greater than that collected by all other optical observatories combined. This data will help scientists make countless discoveries about the universe and will serve as a valuable resource for scientific exploration for decades to come.

Links

• Professor Jason McEwen’s academic profile
• Professor Benjamin Joachimi’s academic profile
• Dr Qianjun (Ellen) Hang’s academic profile
• Mullard Space Science Laboratory at UCL
• UCL Physics & Astronomy
• UCL Mathematical & Physical Sciences

Images

• Top: 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 right) and the Lagoon nebula, which are several thousand light-years away from Earth. Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory
• Middle: This image shows another 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. Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Media contact

Mark Greaves

m.greaves [at] ucl.ac.uk

+44 (0)20 3108 9485