{"id":737625,"date":"2026-07-01T21:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/737625\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T21:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:07:11","slug":"vera-rubin-observatory-begins-unprecedented-survey-of-universe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/737625\/","title":{"rendered":"Vera Rubin Observatory begins unprecedented survey of universe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Every 40 seconds of nighttime for the next 10 years, a camera the size of a small car will capture strikingly detailed images of the southern sky, stitching together a time-lapse panorama of intergalactic evolution that could help unlock some of the universe\u2019s lingering mysteries.\n <\/p>\n

\n The historic effort, called the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), began on Tuesday, according to the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the state-of-the-art facility in Chile that houses the world\u2019s largest digital camera weighing 6,600 pounds.\n <\/p>\n

\n During its decade-long study, a series of colored filters will give the camera superhuman vision<\/a> as it scans the sky each night and creates a living image of how celestial objects \u2014 from asteroids to supernovae \u2014 morph and move.\n <\/p>\n

\n The \u201ccolor-rich\u201d images of exploding stars, black holes and cosmic collisions will also help direct the attention of other observatories around the world, according to a news release<\/a>, allowing various institutions to work in tandem to collect wholistic observations of notable celestial events.\n <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n The project has several goals, including creating a new inventory of our solar system and the Milky Way, as well as chipping away at the mystery of dark matter<\/a> by observing the distorted light of distant galaxies.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cToday, we begin filming the greatest cosmic movie ever made,\u201d said Brian Stone, who is currently performing the duties of the vacant US National Science Foundation director role, in a Tuesday statement. \u201cThis moment reflects decades of vision, innovation and the power of federal investment.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Jointly funded by the US National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, the $800 million Rubin Observatory sits perched on the 8,800-foot-high (2,682-meter-high) summit of the Cerro Pach\u00f3n mountain in northern Chile. The site\u2019s dark skies and dry air make it one of the world\u2019s most optimal spots for stargazing.\n <\/p>\n

\n After the observatory captured its first images<\/a> last year, the LSST was anticipated to begin by early 2026. But checkouts took longer than expected.\n <\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe decision to officially begin the LSST was made after a period of system optimization and a careful operational review of technical readiness, data system performance and scientific validation,\u201d said \u017deljko Ivezi\u0107, head of LSST, in a statement. \u201cImportant factors that played a role in this decision included image quality, effective survey speed, system uptime and reliability, and calibration accuracy.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Each night, the observatory\u2019s camera will capture thousands of images, completing a full scan of the southern sky every few days. Throughout its decade-long survey, the telescope will be able to return to the same spot in the night sky hundreds of times, creating a living image of how each patch of observable star systems and galaxies evolves. The long-term effort will allow scientists to study rare and difficult-to-detect events like never before.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cRubin is bringing the universe to life, illuminating a treasure trove of discoveries: pulsating stars, supernova explosions, the fossil record of galaxies, clues to the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter, and entirely new phenomena never seen before,\u201d the observatory team shared in a news release.\n <\/p>\n

\n Through images taken to help optimize the new system, the observatory has already detected 11,000 new asteroids and logged dozens of other new objects in our solar system.\n <\/p>\n

\n As the observatory\u2019s timelapse unfolds, researchers will use AI and machine learning to filter the data and detect notable changes across time. Scientists expect the system will dispatch about 7 million alerts to flag interesting movements, explosions or notable phenomena every night.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen the LSST is complete, the final dataset will contain billions of objects with trillions of measurements, all accessible through regular data releases,\u201d according to the observatory\u2019s news release. \u201cThis is the first time so much astronomical data will be available to so many people, opening the door to new kinds of discoveries by both scientists and the public.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Sign up for CNN\u2019s Wonder Theory science newsletter<\/a>. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every 40 seconds of nighttime for the next 10 years, a camera the size of a small car…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":737626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[79],"class_list":["post-737625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/737626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}