Let's take a panoramic tour of NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory's site on Cerro Pachón! 🔭🧪
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📷: NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA/H. Stockebrand
Before the 3200-megapixel LSST Camera maps the Universe, it needs a reality check. We shine uniform LED light on this screen for "flat-fielding."
Because every pixel gets identical light, any variations we see come from the hardware, not the cosmos!🔭🧪
2️⃣ The heart of the operation!
Beneath the breathtaking arc of the Milky Way, Rubin's summit facility houses an 8.4-meter telescope and 3200-megapixel camera, which will map the entire southern night sky every few nights. To the right, Rubin's weather station stands tall.🔭🧪
3️⃣ Meet the Differential Image Motion Monitor (DIMM) tower!
While twinkling stars might look romantic, the shifting air making them twinkle also affects our images. The DIMM tower helps track that atmospheric turbulence (or "seeing") in real time.🔭🧪
Most large telescopes are tall & spindly. This one? Short & squat.
Meet NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory’s Simonyi Survey Telescope in this NOIRLab #ImageOfTheWeek! With a unique three-mirror design & low center of gravity, this 350-ton machine moves & maps the night sky quickly. 🔭🧪
1️⃣ Don’t let the humble utility shed fool you!
Shining brightly above are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, two of the Milky Way’s closest dwarf galaxy neighbors.🔭🧪
4️⃣ Every big telescope needs a trusty sidekick!
Rubin's 1.2-meter Auxiliary Telescope acts as its color-corrector, measuring how the atmosphere scatters light across different colors to make Rubin's data as precise as possible.🔭🧪
Welcome to #RubinInFocus: a new series exploring the complex tech behind the NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory! 🔭🧪
First up: this sci-fi-looking structure is Rubin's giant calibration screen. But what does a giant glowing wall actually do in an observatory? 👇
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This allows the team to:
🧼 Detect & correct for dust on mirrors/lenses
🎛️ Measure tiny variations across billions of pixels
🎯 Ensure images contain only pure cosmic data
It looks like a sci-fi spaceship prop, but it makes Rubin's data the best it can be!🔭🧪