Rubin Digest 02 November 2021

2 November 2021

Project & Science News

The Second SCOC-Science Collaborations Workshop will be held virtually on Nov 16-18. The main goal of this workshop is to discuss draft recommendation for the initial survey strategy formulated by the Survey Cadence Optimization Committee (SCOC), which is available at this link. More details can be found at the workshop website. Registration is open until Nov 8th: please register if you plan to attend. 

Data Management team members Wil O’Mullane, Frossie Economou, and Dino Bektesevic (University of Washington) gave presentations on Rubin’s early experiences with Google Cloud at the Astronomical Data Analysis Software & Systems (ADASS) XXXI meeting, held October 24-28. The Data Management group also provided substantial support for the Dark Energy Science Collaboration (DESC) Sprint Week, held October 25-29.

The Camera team at SLAC has begun moving the six LSST Camera filters into their custom storage box using the filter loader with assistance from a crane; all six filters are expected to be in place by November 5th. Photos of the first filters in the box are available in the Gallery.

On the summit in Chile, the Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA) Contractor UTE/Asturfeito is assembling a large lifting fixture (photos here) that will be used to insert and extract the LSST Camera to and from the telescope during Operations. The first onsite use of that fixture is tentatively planned for the week of November 8th to remove the currently installed camera mass simulator, and then reinsert it, in a test demonstration which will also help train Rubin staff. The detailed procedure for that maneuver was formally reviewed last week for safety, prerequisite conditions, and practical considerations. While this procedure was accomplished successfully at the TMA fabrication facility in Spain, it is a different challenge in the constrained space of the Rubin dome and using the dome crane.

New staff highlights are featured on the Rubin website for November. You can read about your colleagues Carol Chirino, Arun Kannawadi, Jacques Sebag, Yousuke Utsumi, and Peter Yoachim at this link. 

Rubin Observatory swag items, including t-shirts, coffee mugs, tote bags, and more, are available for purchase in our not-for-profit online store. 

Rubin in the Media

An article highlighting the two Guinness World Records achieved by Rubin Observatory (for largest lens and highest resolution digital camera) appeared in El Día, a Chilean newspaper based in La Serena. Read the article (in Spanish) at this link. 

Aaron Roodman, LSST Camera Program Leader at SLAC, was interviewed for a photography blog, The Phoblographer. The informative interview appeared in this post on October 24th; the interview was rebroadcast by Yahoo! Finance on the same day. 

Corporation News

Reminder: November 15th is the deadline for applications to the LSST Catalyst Fellowship program. Details and a link to apply are available at this link. 

Announcements & Opportunities

SLAC invites applicants for a 4-year postdoctoral research associate position at Rubin Observatory and SLAC. Details about the position are available at this link, and the deadline to apply is November 26th, 2021.

Info for Project Members:

If you’d like to schedule a one-on-one meeting with Victor or Steve, please fill out this form to indicate your preferred (and backup) date and time. 

There is also an anonymous “suggestion box” for anyone to offer feedback at this link. 

Upcoming Meetings with Rubin Observatory Involvement

(those with an asterisk* are LSSTC funded):

2021
November 16-17	LSST Survey Strategy Workshop, Virtual
2022
January 9-13	239th AAS Winter Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT
January 11	Rubin Observatory Open House at AAS 239, Salt Lake City, UT
January 26-27	AURA Management Council for Rubin Observatory (AMCR) Meeting, Tucson, AZ

 

Upcoming Deadlines:

2021
November 8	Register for SCOC workshop
November 15	LSSTC Catalyst Fellowship Application