Instrument test
Rubin Observatory’s Test Camera Captures First Light
October 31, 2024
Observational Cosmology GroupThe Rubin Observatory, also known as LSST, has achieved first light with its commissioning camera, marking a major milestone for the project
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, recently completed its first full engineering test using the Commissioning Camera, marking a milestone in its journey toward the 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). The observatory team captured initial on-sky data, which was successfully transferred from Chile to California (U.S. Data Facility at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory), signaling the telescope’s readiness. Over the coming months, the team will evaluate incoming data quality in preparation for the transition to the full-scale survey camera. The final LSST Camera will be installed in 2025, paving the way for Rubin’s groundbreaking decade-long survey, which will capture a vast, dynamic view of the cosmos, unveiling insights into dark energy, dark matter, and reveal answers to questions we have yet to imagine.
New results
Andreu Font Presents Latest DESI BAO Results at Harvard
May 5, 2025
During the week of April 15, 2025, Andreu Font delivered a talk at Harvard’s Center for Astrophysics, presenting the latest Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) results from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration. His presentation, titled “How Constant is the Cosmological Constant? Challenging the ΛCDM Model with New Measurements from the DESI Collaboration ”, explored how recent data may question key assumptions of the standard cosmological model.
The talk is available to watch online .