The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, set to commence operations in mid-2025, will explore the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy. This facility, managed by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the US National Science Foundation, will house the largest digital camera ever made for astronomy. Its primary mission, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, will involve capturing images of the Southern Hemisphere sky for a decade. By the survey’s end, the 3.2-gigapixel camera will have cataloged 20 billion galaxies and amassed up to 60 petabytes of data, which is three times the data currently stored by the US Library of Congress. This data will be processed using specialized algorithms and a supercomputer to provide a time-lapse view of the sky, aiding in the study of dark matter’s gravitational effects and creating the most detailed 3D map of the Milky Way. The first science-quality images, known as “first light,” are expected in mid-2025, with public release soon after.
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