Researchers across the UK, including Newcastle University, are celebrating their role in the most ambitious sky survey to date. The Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time, or LSST, 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.

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.

The ultimate movie of the night sky

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 team of expert cosmologists from Newcastle University is playing key roles in multiple aspects of this experiment, from measurements of galaxy shapes and distances (Dr Danielle Leonard and Dr Markus Rau, respectively) required for the measurements, to the modelling and analysis of the data (Dr Joachim Harnois-Deraps and Dr Marika Asgari). Working together, they are currently preparing intensively for the first data release planned for end of next year.

Dr Harnois-Deraps, from Newcastle University’s School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, said: “From the upcoming observations of over a billion galaxies, Rubin will be a cornerstone in our understanding of dark matter and dark energy, two of the greatest mysteries currently faced by mankind."

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 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.

Adapted with thanks from LSST.

Image caption: This 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.