Commissioning of systems on the Vera Rubin Observatory continues. Tuning of the active optics systems (NOT adaptive optics) continues. This past week, both Alpha Centauri and Earth’s natural satellite became visible. These bright objects served as crude calibrators, allowing tests of, e. g., stray light and the need for baffling/blackening. A glitch had happened with the cooling system; tests at multiple temperatures are necessary for routine operations. If Vera Rubin cannot operate year-round, with consistent performance, then the cosmos will appear lopsided, and our cosmology will lean to one side of the Solar System.
This week, there will be a conference on the performance of Vera Rubin in certain areas:
Shaping the Future of Time Domain Astronomy In The Rubin Era, Rio de Janeiro May 19 – 23
https://cbpf.br/rubin_transients2025/
See the program:
https://cbpf.br/rubin_transients2025/schedule.pdf
Unfortunately, when they say “time domain astronomy”, they mean variable stars (including variable “stars”), not moving ones (small bodies). The only truly small-body-based paper is:
Felipe Almeida-Fernandes, Characterizing Interstellar Objects with LSST: Age Determination and Ejection Mechanisms
All the rest are supernovae, cataclysmics, multi-messenger confirmations, etc. Still, have a look and see the depth and breadth of Vera Rubin.
The publicity/outreach effort is starting to get busy. Aside from calling for “first light” parties as I mentioned last time, the VRO team is releasing more press blurbs and fact sheets.