Rubin Digest 15 February 2022

15 February 2022

Project & Science News

Save the date: the 2022 Rubin Project and Community Workshop (PCW) will be held August 8-12 at the Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain Resort in Tucson, AZ. At this time, we are planning a fully in-person meeting. Additional details will be shared as they are available. 

Rubin Observatory is in the final stages of defining the initial survey strategy for the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). This recently published news item describes how the Rubin Observatory team has worked closely with the scientific community to ensure that the LSST enables as much science as possible.

The Rubin Data Management Team has posted a summary and response for the "Photometric Redshifts Letters of Recommendation" (PZ LOR) submitted by the science community in late 2021, and announced a new opportunity for PZ-related commissioning activities. A summary is available at this link, and all PZ LOR are available in the “Science - Photometric Redshifts” category of the Rubin Community Forum.

As winter weather approaches in Chile, installation of corrugated aluminum sheeting (the final weather-protective layer) on the summit facility dome is a high priority. All upward facing surfaces are now fully clad and work has moved to the vertical sides and base skirt ring, where an inflatable seal and interlocked flashing will complete the weather protection. Inside the dome, work has begun on remote software control of the five dome rotation drives. The capability for control of the dome from the Control Room will be needed for on-sky testing of the Telescope Mount Assembly, which is scheduled to take place in the coming months. Recent photos from the summit are available in the Gallery.

Staff highlights for February are now available; read about your colleagues Jim Bosch, Stephanie Deppe, Cristian Silva, and Wouter van Reeven 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. 

Operations Updates

The Rubin Observatory team participated in the Joint NSF/DOE Proposal Review for Operations the week of Feb 7-11. The review was part of the overall 5-year proposal for NOIRLab by AURA to NSF. Proposals were submitted in December to NSF and DOE and reviewed by an independent review panel convened by NSF and DOE. The review was virtual and as many as 90 participants were online at various times. For Rubin, the review represents the culmination of years of hard work to plan for Operations. Significant contributions to the plan, proposals, and review were made from the entire Operations team. The review panel was very complimentary to the team and impressed by the team’s presentations, preparation, and the level of work completed to get to this important point in pre-operations.

The Rubin Observatory has established a User’s Committee, which will give feedback to the Rubin Operations team, through the ten-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), on the Rubin Science Platform (RSP) and the quality of the data products. The User’s Committee consists of 12 people reflecting the scientific and geographical diversity of the LSST science community, selected through a nomination process overseen by the Science Advisory Committee. Matt Holman (CfA) will chair the committee; it is planning its first meeting in the next month in coordination with the Rubin Community Engagement Team. More updates (including a website and a full list of User’s Committee members) will follow in the coming months. 

Announcements & Opportunities

Applications are still being accepted for several positions with Rubin Observatory, including two Observing Specialists and a System Performance Scientist. Opportunities and details can be found on the Rubin hiring website. 

Info for Project Members

If you’d like to schedule a one-on-one meeting with Victor or Zeljko, 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):

2022

February 21-25	Dark Energy Science Collaboration (DESC) Meeting, virtual
March 28-30	“From Data to Software to Science with the Rubin Observatory LSST”* New York City/virtual
May 3-5	AURA Management Council for Rubin Observatory (AMCR) meeting, Tucson, AZ
August 8-12	Rubin Project and Community Workshop 2022, Tucson, AZ

Upcoming Deadlines:

2022

March 15

Express interest in joining the Commissioning Team to help with photo-z estimator implementation