Historic Telescope Launches Major Cosmic Survey With Global Team

WHO:

Phys.org - The NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is involved in the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).

CNN - Brian Stone is currently performing the duties of the vacant US National Science Foundation director role.

CNN - Željko Ivezić is the head of LSST.

WHAT:

Phys.org - The LSST has officially begun full operations.

CNN - The LSST will capture images of the southern sky every 40 seconds for the next 10 years.

CNN - The LSST is expected to generate about 7 million alerts each night for notable movements or phenomena.

CNN - The observatory has already detected 11,000 new asteroids and logged dozens of other new objects in our solar system.

CNN - The LSST is a $800 million project.

WHERE:

Phys.org - The Rubin Observatory is located on the summit of the Cerro Pachón mountain in northern Chile.

CNN - The observatory is situated at an elevation of 8,800 feet (2,682 meters).

WHEN:

CNN - The LSST began taking preliminary images on April 15, 2025.

CNN - The LSST is expected to run for a decade.

WHY:

CNN - The LSST aims to create a new inventory of the solar system and the Milky Way and to study dark matter by observing distorted light from distant galaxies.

CNN - The decision to officially begin the LSST was made after a period of system optimization and a careful operational review.

HOW:

Phys.org - Japanese researchers and engineers are contributing to the LSST by utilizing technologies and expertise from the Subaru Telescope.

CNN - The LSST uses a camera the size of a small car, weighing 6,600 pounds, equipped with a series of colored filters to enhance its observational capabilities.

(UPDATED July 2, 2026 04:25 UTC)

The Legacy Survey of Space and Time, or LSST, has officially begun full operations at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, located on the summit of Cerro Pachón mountain in northern Chile. Over the next decade, the LSST will capture images of the southern sky every 40 seconds, generating about 7 million alerts each night for notable movements or phenomena, and has already detected 11,000 new asteroids along with dozens of other new objects in our solar system. This ambitious $800 million project aims to create a new inventory of the solar system and the Milky Way while studying dark matter, utilizing advanced technology and expertise from the Subaru Telescope.