Rubin Observatory Digest for 19 December 2023

19 December 2023

Project and Science News

The end of 2023 is nearly upon us, another year has flown by with significant progress towards our goal to complete Rubin Observatory and launch the Legacy Survey of Space and Time! We wish you happy holidays and we hope you enjoy Rubin’s 2023 holiday card.

Save the date: The Rubin Community Workshop is being planned for the week of July 22-26, 2024 at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. This meeting will have an emphasis on Rubin LSST science and the needs of the community, which is a shift in focus compared to the Project and Community Workshops (PCWs) of the previous years, though there will still be project updates and opportunities to interact with project staff. More information will be distributed soon.

Members of the Rubin team are preparing for the American Astronomical Society (AAS) winter meeting (AAS#243) in New Orleans on January 7-11. The Rubin Town Hall is scheduled for Thursday, January 11th. If you’re attending the conference, please visit the Rubin booth (#202E in the NSF Pavilion) for a chance to win limited edition swag!

On the summit, the lifting fixture for the Primary/Tertiary mirror (M1M3) is now fully assembled on the maintenance floor of the observatory (see photo). This complex, custom-made piece of equipment is used to lift the M1M3 whenever it needs to be moved. Within a few months the 8.4-meter glass mirror will be brought out of storage and installed on the M1M3 cell in preparation for coating. As previously reported, the M1M3 will be coated with protected silver, the same coating used for the secondary mirror (M2). Work on optimizing the coating chamber parameters for M1M3 silver coating is going well, with the samples now achieving the same range of performance as the M2 mirror.

Just added to the Gallery: new images and video of Rubin Observatory at sunset, contributed by Hernán Stockebrand in early December.

Rubin in the Media:

An article on space.com based on Rubin’s most recent science release was published on December 4th. Read “A cosmic ‘fossil record’ could be hidden among orphaned stars,” to learn more about how Rubin will advance the study of galaxy cluster evolution.

An article (in Portuguese) on Rubin/LSST and the Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia (LIneA) in Brazil appeared in a recent issue of Revista Brasileira de Astronomia: “LSST - O poderoso telescópio que produzirá um filme do Cosmos.”

Operations Updates:

Rubin Observatory’s renewable energy project is underway and making great progress. The NSF approved additional funding which will enable a system that will cover 60% of Rubin’s needs when Operations starts, rather than the 40% initially proposed. On Cerro Pachón, work has started on cutting an access road to the site where Rubin’s photovoltaic panels will be installed.

Personnel Announcements & Opportunities

The SIT-Com team has promoted three Observing Specialists: Congratulations to Alysha Shugart, David San Martín and Karla Aubel, who were all promoted to senior-career level Observing Specialists. Additionally, Alysha Shugart has taken on the role of Observing Specialist Deputy; Alysha will be working with Eric Christensen in the management of the Observing Specialists.

Details and information on open positions with Rubin can be found on the Rubin hiring page.

Info for Project Members

Rubin has introduced a new staff awards program to recognize outstanding performance. For more information or to nominate someone for an award, visit the Staff Awards page on the Project website (login required).

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

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

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

Upcoming Meetings with Rubin Observatory Involvement

(those with an asterisk* are supported by LSST Discovery Alliance):

2024