@lsstuk.bsky.social
Rubin UK is the UK's major contribution to the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory @vrubinobs.bsky.social Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Find out more: https://www.rubin.ac.uk/
Just off the π΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώradio after a lovely #Artemis-II return to the moon chat with @ollopa11.bsky.social! Leo taught me that the Orion capsule is the first moon-mission with a toilet-cubicle on board! The 1970s Apollo astronauts were afforded no such dignityπ³ π°οΈ
βΉοΈ: www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/artemis...
Youβre very welcome. I recommend you contact Sarah directly. Her details (including personal website) are here astro.washington.edu/people/sarah...
17.01.2026 09:59 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 2 π 0We don't know specifically what the craters on asteroid 2025 MN45 look like, since it is too small and far away to be able to resolve it to that level in our telescopic images, but we know it should have craters across its surface, like is depicted in the visualization.β [4/4]
17.01.2026 09:48 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0And while an asteroid made of solid rock may form craters on its surface that look different (in size, shape, or depth) than those that would be formed on an asteroid made of a slightly softer material, we'd still expect it to have some craters. β¦ [3/4]
17.01.2026 09:48 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0closest dense population of asteroids in our Solar System to the Earth, while still being roughly 150 million miles away. All asteroids are expected to have craters on their surfaces caused by collisions with other asteroids regardless of the strength of their material. β¦ [2/4]
17.01.2026 09:48 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Hi Markus. Sarah Greenstreet, who led the study has responded to your question. βThe visualization that was created for the press release is intended to indicate that this fastest-spinning large asteroid known to date lives in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, which is the β¦ [1/4]
17.01.2026 09:48 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Weβre a global project and we donβt have that level of detail at the UK HQ (this was a US study) but Iβll try and connect you with the right team.
13.01.2026 23:03 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Hi Markus, hereβs a link to the study which has more details: iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
13.01.2026 22:55 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Artistβs illustration of 2025 MN45. Credit: NSFβDOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA/P. Marenfeld
Starting 2026 with a bang! @vrubinobs.bsky.social has spotted an asteroid the size of 8 American football fields! And the first peer-reviewed paper using LSST Camera data has been published. Read more: www.lsst.ac.uk/news/2026-01... π
13.01.2026 16:11 β π 11 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0
Are you a scientific researcher, science policy maker or scientist in industry? Join our upcoming Science+ meeting in London on the topic of science as a global public good: royalsociety.org/science-even... @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social @unesco.org
05.01.2026 10:01 β π 2 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
What is Janet and how is it supporting the @vrubinobs.bsky.social LSST? This short video explains how @jisc.bsky.social's Janet network is playing a critical role in transferring the huge quantities of LSST data π
youtu.be/L3nFoHoxSKk?...
Snowfall blanketed the mountains of northern Chile on August 4, 2024, including Cerro PachΓ³n, where Rubin Observatory is located.
As the LSST:UK team starts to wind down to enjoy a few days of rest and relaxation, we wish you all a happy and peaceful festive season.
π· NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/F. Bruno
βWe wouldnβt have the Rubin Observatory today if [Tony Tyson] hadnβt had that vision, and also that dogged determination,β says @astroroyalscot.bsky.social. Find out why Tyson is on @nature.com's list of people who shaped science in 2025. π
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
This free opportunity for ECRs to gain new skills π
18.12.2025 17:22 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0... and you can follow Agata on @agastro.bsky.social π
02.12.2025 13:16 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
What's Janet and why is it important for UK astronomy? π This video by @jisc.bsky.social introduces the UKβs national research and education network. Agata RoΕΌek & @markgbeckett.bsky.social from @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social explain why it's crucial for the Rubin LSST.
www.lsst.ac.uk/news/2025-12...
From @noirlabastro.bsky.social: To celebrate 25 years of the International Gemini Observatory, weβre launching a two-part Blog series! Today, weβre exploring the global contributions made to make this monumental astronomical project happen. noirlab.edu/public/blog/... #astronomy
01.12.2025 17:33 β π 8 π 5 π¬ 0 π 0
Did you know that a single kilonova can forge more gold and platinum in a few seconds than has ever been mined on earth? Find out what else we learned when we spoke to Dimple, one of our LSST:UK team members working at @unibirmingham.bsky.social π
www.lsst.ac.uk/news/2025-11...
A fox sitting on dry grass illuminated by warm, golden sunset light in a rocky terrain.
A fox resting on rocky ground near a large astronomical observatory dome under clear blue sky.
Silhouette of a fox resting on the ground near a guardrail with the bright setting sun shining in a clear sky.
A lone fox sitting on dry, cracked desert ground with sparse vegetation in the background.
What does the fox say?π¦
Today, weβre showing off our favorite pictures of culpeo foxes weβve spotted around Cerro PachΓ³n, home of NSFβDOE Rubin Observatory. πΈ
π‘Fun fact: While these little guys look like foxes (and are called foxes), theyβre actually more closely related to wolves and jackals!π
Art meets science at the @epcc.bsky.social UK Data Access Centre. A new mural by Aaron Ballantyne is inspired by Mary Somerville and the First Look images from @vrubinobs.bsky.social π π¨ www.lsst.ac.uk/news/2025-11...
24.11.2025 14:31 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
What does the @vrubinobs.bsky.social LSST hold in store for a particle physicist? We asked Prof Jeff Tseng of @oxfordphysics.bsky.social to tell us why he's looking forward to the start of Rubin operations: www.lsst.ac.uk/news/2025-11... π
21.11.2025 17:15 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Have you ever heard of Betty Webster? I hadn't until recently, and she co-discovered the first black hole ever found! Here's her story, to honor her memory and fantastic accomplishment.
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/the-woman-...
π π§ͺ
Comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third object ever identified as entering our solar system from elsewhere in the galaxy. NASA will host a live event at 3 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Nov. 19, to share imagery of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS collected by a number of the agencyβs missions. π π§ͺ
18.11.2025 16:24 β π 47 π 13 π¬ 1 π 3An exciting opportunity to be part of one of the biggest astronomy projects of the decade... π
18.11.2025 16:26 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 2 π 0New #Euclid image drop from @esa.int and @ec-euclid.bsky.social! π
Meet LDN 1641, a βdark cloudβ about 1300 light-years from Earth, observed by Euclid back in 2023 to test its guiding systems. β¬οΈβοΈ
Kilonovae are tricky to detect, due to their faintness and fast decaying nature. In a new blog, two members of the team that built Lasair, a @vrubinobs.bsky.social community broker, explain how Lasair is equipped to hunt down kilonovae. π
community.lsst.org/t/finding-ki...
Credit: Olivier Bonin/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
31.10.2025 15:11 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
View of Rubin Observatory at sunset in May 2024, on Cerro PachΓ³n in Chile.
Did you know? When scientists began brainstorming @vrubinobs.bsky.social 3 decades ago, they had the title Dark Matter Telescope in mind? With its wide field of view and sensitivity to the faintest objects, Rubin will reveal how dark matter and dark energy shape the universe. π #darkmatterday.
31.10.2025 15:11 β π 7 π 3 π¬ 1 π 0Our own @cfrohmaier.bsky.social has written the algorithms to enable 4MOST to observe the largest ever spectroscopic sample of supernovae; Chris coordinates the spectroscopic follow-up of LSST-discovered supernovae with the partner survey 4MOST-TiDES π
23.10.2025 13:13 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Congratulations to @4most-eu.bsky.social
which has achieved First Light, splitting the light into 18,000 spellbinding colour components. π Read more about this multi-tasking telescope, which will collect the largest ever spectroscopic sample of supernovae. π
tinyurl.com/2wnw86zd
