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Vera C. Rubin Observatory first images

rubinobservatory.org

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Re: Vera C. Rubin Observatory first images

#31
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Deep is still interesting in understanding the origins of the universe. Rubin seems highly practical on the flip side. It'll be a super helpful tool in predicting asteroid impacts.

Also microlensing events, supernovae, and many other things in our very dynamic universe.

Also new planets! Planet Nine should likely be resolved within months, one way or another.

> "Probably within the first year we’re going to see if there’s something there or not,” says Pedro Bernardinelli, an astronomer at the University of Washington."

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/is-there-...

Re: Vera C. Rubin Observatory first images

#32
Every set of deep field imagery reminds me that any point of light we see could be a star, a galaxy, or a cluster of galaxies. The universe is unimaginably vast.

For observatories like Rubin, is there a plan for keeping them open after the funding ends? Is it feasible for Chile to take over the project and keep it going?

On a practical note, what happens to a facility like this if one day it's just locked up? Will it degrade without routine maintenance, or will it still be operational in the event someone can put together funding?

Re: Vera C. Rubin Observatory first images

#34
The zoomed images look grainy as one would expect from raw data, but I would have expected them to do dark field subtraction for the chips to minimize this effect. Does anyone know if that's done (or expressly avoided) in this context, or why it might not be as helpful (e.g., for longer exposures)?

Re: Vera C. Rubin Observatory first images

#36
Even one zoom-in and I find something interesting.

What's that faint illuminated tendril extending from M61 (the large spiral galaxy at the bottom center of the image) upwards towards that red giant? It seems too straight and off-center to be an extension of the spiral arm.

EDIT: The supposed "Tidal tail" on M61 was evidently known from deep astrophotography, but only rarely detected & commented upon.

Re: Vera C. Rubin Observatory first images

#38
post #9

The asteroid detection capability is amazing: https://rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-first-look/swarm-ast...

Whoa that's incredible.

(And amazing production of the actual video as well)

Pretty sure you can see some kind of masking for satellites in some of the frames of the asteroid videos.

Re: Vera C. Rubin Observatory first images

#40
post #13

Counter-rotating spiral galaxies. Super neat! https://skyviewer.app/embed?target=186.66721+8.89072&fov=0.2...

(Quick side note, if you go to /explorer instead of /embed you can zoom out so you can see the whole image at once)

https://skyviewer.app/explorer?target=187.69717+12.33897&fov...

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