The first ever images have been unveiled from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).

The images will reveal the secrets of the cosmos over the next decade, creating an ultra-wide ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of our Universe.

Enabled by an investment of £23 million from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), UK astronomers and software developers have been preparing the hardware and software needed to analyse the petabytes of data that the survey will produce to enable groundbreaking science that will enhance our understanding of the cosmos.

Professor Roger Jones leads the Lancaster group involved in the LSST.

He said: “Lancaster is very pleased to be leading the UK portion of the main data release processing, providing the input to the astronomy teams. It is good to be able to redeploy the tools we have developed for Particle Physics data into another exciting physics discipline and we look forward to a decade of new discoveries."

The UK is the second largest international contributor to the multinational project, putting UK astronomers at the forefront when it comes to exploiting this unique window on the Universe.

Data innovation

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. When complete, the full 10-year survey is expected to rack up as much as 500 petabytes of data. The UK’s science portal for the international community is capable of connecting around 1,500 astronomers with UK Digital Research Infrastructure to support the exploitation of this uniquely rich and detailed view of the Universe.

The ultimate movie of the night sky

Conceived in the 1990s, Rubin 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, Rubin will perform the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) using the LSST Camera and the Simonyi Survey Telescope. By repeatedly scanning the sky for ten years, the observatory will deliver a treasure trove of discoveries: asteroids and comets, pulsating stars, and supernova explosions. Science operations are expected to start towards the end of 2025.

Dr Aprajita Verma, Senior Researcher at the University of Oxford and Rubin Observatory In-kind Program Lead, says the wide range of UK activity providing value to the Rubin Observatory and the US community represents the UK's commitment to the Legacy Survey of Space and Time: “The UK contribution enables our large scientific community to receive proprietary data access in return and – importantly – allows us to engage and collaborate with international colleagues on a wide range of scientific questions that Rubin data will address.”

Professor Bob Mann, Professor of Survey Astronomy, University of Edinburgh and 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.”

“First Look is a beautiful glimpse of what is to come during the Rubin/LSST era,” said Professor Graham Smith, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, and the LSST:UK Project Scientist. “LSST:UK is making major contributions to the software pipelines on which scientific breakthroughs depend; it’s also a key player in the global infrastructure that will alert the whole world to exciting new discoveries of moving and exploding objects.”