Rubin Observatory

?? Rubin #CommissioningNotes, entry 3??: progress continues! Our team had some exciting accomplishments last week with Rubin's test camera, ComCam: ??the best image quality measured so far, and ?? data taken of the sky in five of Rubin's six wavelength filters ?? Our team has increased the telescope’s moving speed since tests have shown good control of the systems that manage the forces felt by Rubin’s delicate primary/tertiary mirror ?? There's lots of work still to do to bring the telescope up to its designed speed, but the team is encouraged by the rapid progress so far! For more details: https://lnkd.in/gS4JhUNt

?? Rubin #CommissioningNotes, entry 2??: when you turn it on and it works ?? Initial tests with Rubin's test camera, ComCam, showed the telescope was already nearly aligned before even looking at the sky — a testament to decades of work! With further testing, our team continued to improve data quality?? There's months of work ahead to refine Rubin's systems. The team's focus right now is the "active optics" systems that help support the telescope's mirrors and maintain the precise shape needed for crisp images. For more details, catch up on these recent updates from earlier this month! ?? (Nov. 1): https://lnkd.in/gXYFPvY7 ?? (Nov. 8): https://lnkd.in/gXh--y8n ??: H. Stockebrand

Welcome to Rubin's #CommissioningNotes! Entry 1??: we're in full swing! Ok, but what's "commissioning?" Rubin Observatory is the result of millions of hours of work by thousands of people around the world -- and now all that work is coming together! Commissioning is the process of testing, troubleshooting, and aligning all the different parts and software of Rubin into one complete, functioning system. Stay tuned for updates and more details, and join us on this exciting adventure toward a complete Rubin Observatory as we log progress in our #CommissioningNotes!

It's probably a surprise to no one, but telescopes have a lot of reflective surfaces just begging for selfies! ?? This #SelfieSunday, take a browse through some of our recent favorites from our #RubinTeam ?? About these selfies: 1: The Centre de Calcul de l'IN2P3 (CNRS) filter team in an LSST Camera filter 2: Selfie in the 144-megapixel detector of the Rubin Commissioning Camera 3: LSST Camera Team's Travis Lange in a camera filter 4: Rubin staff in the telescope's secondary mirror 5: Rubin Data Management's Wil O'Mullane in a camera filter 6: Clean room selfie in a camera filter 7: Rubin staff look up for a selfie in the telescope's secondary mirror 8: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory PhD student Bernardita Ried in a camera filter

We're #hiring! Want to join the cutting edge of astronomy and astrophysics? We have openings for #developers on our Education & Public Outreach team, #observing specialists in Chile, and more! Visit https://ow.ly/brBb50TZI5A - or click to see individual openings below! --- ?? Junior full stack developer (EPO): https://ow.ly/F8SP50TZI5B ?? Senior backend web developer (EPO): https://ow.ly/Jntv50TZI5v ?? Observing specialists - early, mid, or late career: https://ow.ly/hs3750TZI5x ?? System performance postdoc: https://ow.ly/IML650TZI5s . . . #opportunity #jobopening #astronomyjobs

Ever wonder what lurks in the shadows of our Universe? ?? 85% of the cosmos is filled with something we can’t see but know is there because of its gravity... It's not ghosts, it's dark matter ?? But no need to be scared! Rubin Observatory will soon be on the hunt for the spooky, invisible dark matter that outweighs the regular matter we know and love by 5-to-1 ?? Learn how at https://lnkd.in/g8RvW6mw Happy #Halloween and #DarkMatterDay!

Photons, meet the Commissioning Camera ?? On October 24, Rubin staff successfully completed the first end-to-end on-sky test of the full telescope system using the testing camera — from capturing the night sky to transferring data to SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory! This group photo was taken in the closed dome through a pinhole ahead of the on-sky test. This means that Rubin now has a complete AND functioning telescope — starlight traveled through the telescope, was captured by the test camera, and appeared in a digital image! Read more about this exciting milestone ?? https://lnkd.in/gJfXuVYE . . . ??: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA NSF NOIRLab | NOIRLab en Espa?ol | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy | U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Let the game-changing begin! ?? Have you wondered why thousands of scientists around the world are so excited for Rubin to #CaptureTheCosmos beginning in 2025? This CNN article has you covered. Learn about Rubin, its SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory-built camera, and the science you can look forward to over the next decade and beyond! ??: https://lnkd.in/gYeRCiu7 . . . NSF NOIRLab | Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy | National Science Foundation (NSF) | U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Want a gourd idea this #Halloween? Give your neighbors pumpkin to talk about with this Rubin-themed jack-o-lantern stencil ?? Carve out some fun this spooky season and tag us in your #RubinPumpkins photos! Grab the stencil ?? ls.st/halloweenstencil

We're still buzzing about our beautiful telescope! ?? In case you missed it, Rubin Observatory staff recently installed the primary/tertiary mirror onto the Simonyi Survey Telescope. We officially have a complete telescope — using the commissioning camera — after 15 years of construction! Read more about the installation: https://lnkd.in/gNH-pDyu