ǿ����Ƶ astronomers celebrate role in capturing stunning images of our Universe

ǿ����Ƶ (UoP) researchers are celebrating their role in the most ambitious sky survey to date, as the showcases its stunning today (June 23).

Located on a mountaintop in Chile, the telescope is capturing the cosmos in exquisite detail. Using the largest camera ever built, Rubin’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time, or LSST, will repeatedly scan the sky for 10 years and create an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of our Universe.

Enabled by an investment of £23 million from the , 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 universe. 

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.

Formed in 2014, the LSST:UK Consortium is made up of 36 partners representing all major UK astronomy research groups, including from the ǿ����Ƶ. Inspired by the breadth of scientific impact Rubin’s sky survey promises, researchers across the UK joined together more than a decade ago to coordinate UK involvement in the Rubin LSST. 

Professor Tessa Baker, Professor of Cosmology in the ǿ����Ƶ’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG) and UoP representative on the LSST:UK Consortium board, said: “We very excited to see the First Look release today, there are some great images. In the ICG we're particularly involved in two aspects of Rubin data, gravitational lensing and tests of dark energy. Gravitational lensing is the distortion of light from distant galaxies as they travel through the universe; it will change the shapes of the galaxies Rubin sees. 

“Sometimes it can make them look really warped and weird! We can use this effect to learn about the invisible cosmic web of dark matter that fills 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.

ǿ����Ƶ researchers are also working on preparations to use Rubin data to test the nature of dark energy, the unknown component making up 70 per cent of the universe and causing it to expand ever faster. 

They are running simulations to study how the “cosmic web” - a sponge-like structure made of dark matter - would change according to different theoretical ideas for what dark energy truly is. 

“We'll be able to compare the outputs of our simulations to the actual Rubin data, to work out which dark energy models are wrong or possibly right,” added Professor Baker.

“Whilst the First Look release won't contain all the data we need for this science yet, it'll be the first confirmation that everything is on track and working with the telescope. One of the unique features of Rubin is that it has a really big field of view, meaning it can see a huge chunk of the sky in one go. I've been involved with the project for nearly a decade now, so it's really rewarding to see it come together.”

The ultimate movie of the night sky

More than two decades in the making, 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.

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.”

As a recognised international centre of research excellence, the ǿ����Ƶ’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG) brings together more than 70 researchers - faculty, postdoctoral fellows and PhD students - tackling some of the Universe’s most profound mysteries, from the earliest moments after the Big Bang to the large-scale structure of galaxies, dark energy and gravitational waves. 

Its world-class impact was confirmed in REF 2021, where 100 per cent of ICG research was rated world-leading or internationally excellent. 

The institute’s contributions include roles in major international projects such as Euclid, , the , and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI).

Main image combines 678 separate images taken by NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in just over seven hours of observing time. Combining many images in this way clearly reveals otherwise faint or invisible details, such as the clouds of gas and dust that comprise the Trifid nebula (top right) and the Lagoon nebula, which are several thousand light-years away from Earth. Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory.