The NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a new telescope in Chile, shared its first images of space. Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, this observatory is built to study the Universe. In just 10 hours of test observations, it captured millions of galaxies, stars in our Milky Way, and thousands of asteroids, which are rocky objects orbiting the Sun. These images are a small preview of a 10-year project called the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, which will explore big questions about the Universe.
Located on Cerro Pachón in Chile, the observatory benefits from clear, dark skies, perfect for stargazing. It has an 8.4-meter telescope, which is a large mirror that collects light from space, and the biggest digital camera ever made. This camera takes detailed pictures of the sky. Starting later in 2025, the telescope will scan the sky every night, creating a huge, clear, time-lapse video of the Universe. This will show changes in the sky, like moving asteroids, exploding stars called supernovas, and distant galaxies, which are massive groups of stars far from Earth.
A new era of discovery
The observatory is named after Vera C. Rubin, an astronomer who discovered evidence of dark matter, an invisible substance that affects gravity in the Universe. It will study dark matter and dark energy, a mysterious force making the Universe expand faster. Together, these make up 95% of the Universe, but scientists don’t fully understand them. The telescope will also find millions of new asteroids and comets, small icy objects in space, helping protect Earth by spotting ones that might come close.
In its first year, the observatory will collect more data than all other optical telescopes combined. This data will help scientists learn about the Universe and inspire discoveries for years. The telescope takes about 1,000 images nightly, covering the southern sky every few days. It found over 2,000 new asteroids in just 10 hours, including seven near Earth, though none are dangerous. The public can explore these images online and even help with science through a citizen scientist program. The observatory’s data will be shared regularly, letting researchers worldwide study the cosmos in new ways.