Announcements 2025

2 May 2025: Punctuating the deep black of this Image of the Week are hundreds of blobs of light, each one an entire galaxy in our Universe. Many of the yellowish points are members of the galaxy cluster Abell 1489, imaged here using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini North, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab. Read more

2 May 2025: While NOIRLab works to unravel the secrets of the Universe, you can start your own journey to explore the night sky right from your backyard. There are plenty of celestial events for skywatchers to observe every month. Below are some highlights. If you’d like to explore more on your own, we recommend Stellarium, which has a web interface and app. Note: Never look directly at the Sun through binoculars or a telescope, or with your unaided eyes. Serious eye damage can occur. 3 May: Moon and Mars conjunction The Moon and Mars will appear very close together in the sky, as the Moon approaches first quarter. 5–6 May, eta Aquariids meteor shower The eta Aquariids are one of the best meteor showers of the year for southern hemisphere observers, producing about 50 meteors per hour from a dark site. Northern hemisphere observers can see 10–30 meteors per hour. Produced by …

2 May 2025: Chile 9 May, Cumbre de Educación en Astronomía Location: Andacollo, ChileTime: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CLTDescription: The Andacollo Education Summit is an event for local students as they learn about the importance of astronomy and the impact it has had on their city. 25 May, Día de los Patrimonios Location: Cerro Calán, Santiago, ChileTime: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CLTDescription: NOIRLab will participate in Heritage Day at the National Observatory of the University of Chile, located on Cerro Calán, Santiago, where the public will be able to enjoy solar observation and a series of activities designed for the little ones in the family. Colleagues working in Santiago are cordially invited to join our booth and share the wonders of our observatories with the public. Hawai‘i 3 May, AstroDay Location: Prince Kūhiō Mall, HI Time: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. HSTDescription: AstroDay is an annual event that brings astronomy education …

2 May 2025: The Gemini Card Game is a cooperative game featuring various scientific decisions that astronomers face while building, observing, and running a world-class observatory like the International Gemini Observatory. Throughout the game, players uncover the tools and science behind real astronomical observations and learn how Gemini observes the entire night sky with its twin 8.1-meter telescopes located on Maunakea in Hawai‘i and Cerro Pachón in Chile. Game Objective The goal of the multiplayer game is to work together to complete several high-priority, top-ranked science projects (so-called Band-1 programs) and as many additional programs over 12 rounds (or one semester). This is done by strategically selecting cards that can help achieve the goals of each program. Outlined on each card are the instruments, targets, or observation time required to fulfill the program’s goals. Each completed or partially completed program earns points. Just as astronomers build a reputation based on the quality and …

2 May 2025: It’s the beginning of May, meaning Black Hole Week is here again! To kick off the celebration, let's break down the basics of black holes, explore what makes them so intriguing, and find out how to learn more about them at home. What is a black hole? A black hole is an object in space that is so dense that its gravity becomes inescapable for anything that dares to cross its event horizon — the border within the hole where nothing inside can ever return. When stars much larger than the mass of the Sun die, they explode into violent supernovae. Stars that are 20 times the mass of our Sun or larger collapse during supernovae into infinitely tiny points, forming black holes. These points, known as singularities, are where mass is crushed into infinite density. They cannot be seen directly, and no light can escape their grasp, meaning black …

2 May 2025: Dark energy is one of the most mysterious forces in the Universe. Its discovery was announced in 1998 when two groups of astronomers published their findings on the expansion history of the Universe. Much to the surprise of astronomers, the expansion of the Universe was accelerating. The mysterious force that drives this acceleration was given the name dark energy. To study dark energy, astronomers wanted to measure how fast tens of millions of different galaxies are moving away from us. By looking at galaxies at different distances and knowing their recessional velocities, astronomers can study the behavior of the Universe’s expansion rate over time. Measuring the recessional velocities of tens of millions of galaxies requires a special instrument — the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). DESI is a state-of-the-art spectrograph that can measure the recessional velocity of 5000 galaxies at once. DESI is installed on the U.S. National Science Foundation …

2 May 2025: Communicating science, astronomy in particular, is challenging not only for scientists but also for educators and teachers. Social media and other new cross-media channels have partnered with independent science communicators to create and produce interesting and relevant content for different audiences, especially for students. Such is the case of the podcast Cráneo: ciencia para niños curiosos (Skull: Science for Curious Kids), created by Cumbre Kids, a website that hosts online educational resources and produces some of the main STEM podcasts for children. More than 120,000 Spanish-speaking families in the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America follow each episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. Astronomer and NOIRLab Postdoc Research Associate Pol Massana was invited to the last Cráneo episode to answer questions about comets from kids aged three to 10 years old. During the interview Pol breaks down the main features of comets and how they differ from other celestial …

2 May 2025: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines an observatory as “a building or place designed or equipped for observing natural phenomena (as in astronomy) and an institution whose primary purpose is making such observations.” As the construction of NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory nears completion, there are many reasons to celebrate: The successful conclusion of a decade-long construction project, featuring a telescope with a unique optical design and the largest camera ever built for astronomy; The beginning of a ten-year survey of the southern sky (the Legacy Survey of Space and Time) that will ultimately generate a staggering 500 petabytes of data; The implementation of a sophisticated, global high-speed network to transfer, process, store, and distribute these data. These accomplishments are impressive in their own right, but none would have been possible without the people who collaborated for years to bring this vision to life. In fact, one might argue that the alternate …

28 April 2025: Project and Science News The Rubin team took the first on-sky engineering data with the LSST Camera on April 15th, shortly after darkness fell on Cerro Pachón. The first images were taken with the i-band filter. Thanks to Rubin’s successful on-sky campaign using the Commissioning Camera, the telescope optical alignments were remarkably close to optimal before even looking at the sky. Along with the excellent initial performance of the full Observatory optical system, the LSST Camera, its supporting refrigeration equipment, and the data acquisition and control systems all demonstrated smooth operation, just a few weeks after installation. The Data Management system successfully transported and processed the 3-gigapixel images at the US Data Facility within about a minute of acquiring the exposures. More details about this achievement are available on community.lsst.org, and photos of Rubin’s various distributed teams celebrating the event are available in the Gallery. During the upcoming period of …

24 April 2025: We are pleased to announce that Scott Dahm has been appointed Director of the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab. He will relocate to the island of Hawai’i in July of this year. In February 2024 former Gemini director Jennifer Lotz left to become Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute. Dahm, who was serving as the Gemini Deputy Director at the time, was appointed Interim Director for Gemini while a search was conducted. In the spring of 2024, NOIRLab assembled an international search committee with members from the Gemini partner countries, including Canada, Korea, and the U.S., along with people working in Hawai’i and Chile. Most of the committee members were in observatory leadership positions and two were affiliated with the Gemini Observatory. The committee conducted a worldwide search and considered a large number of potential candidates. Dahm …

24 April 2025: The NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory and its partners are excited to soon be announcing the release of the first images. We have not yet determined the date of the First Look unveiling event with a public livestream (in English and Spanish), but expect it to be in June or July of this year. During the First Look event, the comprehensive press release will be published, featuring a large set of ultra-high-definition images and videos showcasing Rubin’s extraordinary capabilities to the world for the first time. This will mark the beginning of a new era in astronomy, and we invite you to take part (sign up using this form). NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science (DOE/SC). Rubin Observatory is a joint Program of NSF NOIRLab and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), who …

21 April 2025: International Dark Sky Week (IDSW) is taking place from 21 to 28 April 2025. This week serves as both an annual celebration of the beauty and significance of Earth’s night sky, and a major push for its preservation. This announcement highlights the many ways that you can get involved! During this Dark Sky Week, NSF NOIRLab, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, and co-sponsor DarkSky International encourage you to get involved with their international citizen-science program, Globe at Night. This program invites everybody to contribute to dark sky protection by submitting night sky brightness measurements to a global database in a simple and accessible way. Since launching 19 years ago, Globe at Night has collected over 200,000 citizen-submitted data points. This robust dataset is serving as an invaluable resource to scientists studying the effects of light pollution on Earth. Light pollution is the excessive use of man-made lighting that …

4 April 2025: In an alignment of celestial bodies, Mars was captured here rising out of a lunar occultation on 13 January 2025 using the new Visitor Center 0.6-meter Shreve Telescope at the U.S. National Science Foundation Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab, near Tucson, Arizona. An occultation is when an object becomes hidden from an observer’s view by another object passing between them. The passing object must be larger than the hidden object. Otherwise the event is a transit, such as the transit of Mercury in front of the Sun in 2019, as photographed from NSF Cerro Tololo International Observatory (CTIO), another Program of NSF NOIRLab. Read more

4 April 2025: While NOIRLab works to unravel the secrets of the Universe, you can start your own journey to explore the night sky right from your backyard. There are plenty of celestial events for skywatchers to observe every month. Below are some highlights. If you’d like to explore more on your own, we recommend Stellarium, which has a web interface and app. Note: Never look directly at the Sun through binoculars or a telescope, or with your unaided eyes. Serious eye damage can occur. 1–2 April: The Moon dances with M45 and Jupiter Between 1 and 2 April, a crescent Moon will move from a spot near the Pleiades star cluster (M45) to Jupiter. 5 April: Martian Moon Mars and the Moon will appear very close to each other high in the sky. 24 April: Early morning planet party Just before sunrise, Venus, Saturn, and Mercury can be spotted hanging out near …

4 April 2025: Professional Development Opportunities 23 April, Behind the Scenes: Exploding Stars Time: 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. MST Location: Online Webinar, Register Here Description: The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is introducing a series of webinars for current or future users of Rubin Observatory investigations. Each one-hour webinar in the series is designed to: Gain a better understanding of the science behind the topic Give insight into the details of the authentic data analysis process Highlight student misconceptions or learning confusions Demonstrate tips for how to use the widgets Provide an opportunity for you to ask questions The first webinar of the series, Behind the Scenes: Exploding Stars, will take place on 23 April and will be recorded. The webinar will be in English. Community Events Arizona 16 April, STEM Family Night Location: San Xavier Education Center, Tucson, AZ Time: 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. MST Description: All families are welcome …

4 April 2025: In celebration of 25 years since first light observations with the International Gemini Observatory, students in Hawaiʻi and Chile have a unique opportunity to participate in an exciting imaging contest! To kick off the contest, students are invited to vote on the astronomical object that will be imaged by the Gemini South telescope on Cerro Pachón in Chile or the Gemini North telescope located near the summit of Maunakea in Hawaiʻi. To help students make an informed choice, educators will be provided with resources about different types of celestial objects including a slide deck, lesson plans, and educational resources. In both Hawaiʻi and Chile students will have the opportunity to engage with the observation process via activities such as internships or visits to the Base Facility Control Room. In Chile students will be able to participate in a short essay contest and the most creative essay will win a visit …

4 April 2025: To celebrate National Day of Astronomy on 21 March, NSF NOIRLab and AURA, in partnership with Biblioteca Regional Gabriela Mistral and Proyecto Explora Coquimbo, hosted AstroDay Chile — an entire day packed with family-friendly activities at the Gabriela Mistral Regional Library. Since 2007, AstroDay Chile has been one of the most prominent outreach programs in the Coquimbo region. Over 2000 people attended this year’s AstroDay Chile event, where they explored the latest scientific breakthroughs from NOIRLab’s Chile-based observatories and learned about public visit programs. Visitors also connected with experts from other leading observatories, universities, and organizations, such as InnovaSteam, which sparked curiosity about STEAM careers and promoted 21st-century learning and technology. NOIRLab Astronomers captivated audiences with talks on exciting research happening at the observatories. They highlighted the cutting-edge capabilities of the world’s largest digital camera at NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory located on Cerro Pachón in Chile. This instrument will …

4 April 2025: Astronomers have made a new discovery in the world of novae: a phenomenon that can be thought of as erupting “zombie stars.” High-mass stars end their lives in an explosive event called a supernova, while low-mass stars typically fade into white dwarfs. However, a white dwarf in a binary system, gravitationally bound to another star still fusing elements in its core, can also experience a dramatic end-of-life event called a nova. White dwarfs bound to living stars can accrete mass from their partners. This process creates an atmosphere on the white dwarf and can eventually generate enough heat to reignite the fusion process in the once-dead star, creating a sort of “zombie star.” However, the star’s return to life does not last forever. This reignition expels the new atmosphere in an extremely bright event known as a nova. Almost all known novae have erupted only once. However, a small group …

4 April 2025: This month marks an exciting point in the progress of astronomy technology: the largest camera ever designed for astronomical observations will open its eye on the Universe for the first time. The NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory LSST Camera was successfully installed on the Simonyi Survey Telescope in early March. It is now in the last phase of testing before capturing its long-awaited and highly anticipated First Look images, followed by the start of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). This achievement results from over a decade of dedicated work by a global team of scientists and engineers. NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science (DOE/SC). Rubin Observatory is a joint Program of NSF NOIRLab and DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. NSF NOIRLab is managed by the Association of Universities for …

2 April 2025: Project and Science News Registration for the 2025 Rubin Community Workshop, to be held in Tucson July 28 - August 1, is now open. Please visit the meeting website for more information and a link to register. Since the LSST Camera was installed on the telescope in early March, the team on the summit has made good progress testing and preparing the camera to go on-sky later this month. The pumped chiller system (which cools the raft electronics) has reached -40°C, and both the cryo refrigeration system (which cools the camera's CCDs) and the CCDs will be turned on this week. Testing of the camera shutter and filter exchange system are also ongoing. The summit team conducted dome endurance tests on March 27th, focusing on evaluating the performance of the dome’s capacitor banks. The test began with a long 30-degree slew, during which telemetry data was successfully recorded in the …