Rubin will #CaptureTheCosmos in exquisite detail starting in 2026 🌌 Funded by @NSF and @DOEScience. Para español: https://xitter.gq/t.co/JXSHsXeBwQ
- Tweets3.3K
- Following367
- Followers26.1K
- Likes1.5K
ALT This image shows the orbital pathway of newly discovered dwarf planet candidate 2026 ED138 (ED138), as observed by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. This image is a composite of multiple images captured by Rubin between 4 March and 11 July 2026 at intervals indicated by the teal circles. ED138 is visible at the center of each circle. ED138 was found by Rubin Operations team member and in-Kind contributor Matthew Holman (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian), who contributes to improving Rubin's algorithms that search for distant moving objects in our Solar System. Its distance from the Sun places it beyond the orbit of Pluto, and initial analysis indicates that it may be among the largest and brightest bodies scientists have discovered in this region of the Solar System. Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA Image Processing: M. Jurić (UW), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)
ALT A ground-based photo of the full Trifid Nebula is shown on the left half with an inset image from the Hubble Space Telescope at right. At left, an irregular mostly opaque circle takes up the majority of the view. The circle has a bright pink interior crossed with a few dark, jagged dust lanes. A significant region around that appears blue. The edges have shades of orange and brown, with the star-filled black background of space peeking through. Hubble’s close-up is outlined just below center to the left. The top left is bright blue. Brown and amber colors run from top right through the center in irregular, overlapping lines to the bottom-center. At bottom right, the view is almost black. Tiny, amber-colored stars appear throughout the scene. Toward the left there is a prominent brown shape that looks like a head with two horns.
ALT A green Romanesco cauliflower is placed inside a gray protective case. Two circular lights are positioned on the inner side of the case. Credit: Jacqueline Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
ALT SLAC's Yousuke Utsumi, right, and Aaron Roodman remove the pinhole projector from the cryostat assembly after projecting the first images onto the focal plane of the LSST Camera. Among the first objects photographed was a head of Romanesco, seen here on a screen to the right, chosen for its very detailed texture. Credit: Jacqueline Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
ALT The head of Romanesco projected on the grid-like focal plane of the LSST Camera, photographed in black and white. Credit: (LSST Camera Team/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory/Rubin Observatory)
ALT Star-filled teal night sky with turquoise glowing band, scattered “DATA ALERT” tags, and a white icon of the Rubin Observatory atop dark mountains. This artist’s illustration represents the start of the alert stream from NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The summit facility is shown on a rocky ridge. The night sky features stars and the glittering band of the Milky Way Galaxy. The sky is populated with multiple alert “pings,” representing individual alerts from Rubin that something in the sky has changed in brightness or position. Different icons represent various types of alerts, including asteroids, supernovae, active galactic nuclei, and variable stars. (NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA/P. Marenfeld/J. Pinto)
ALT Chart with images that show how five different supernovae are expected in the template, how the telescope has captured them and the difference between the two.
