Utrecht University hosts Rubin First Look Watch Party

On 23 June, a new chapter in astronomy begins as the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile unveils its first images of the universe, starting a timelapse of the cosmos with a higher resolution than ever before. At Sonnenborgh museum and observatory in Utrecht, scientists who are involved in the Rubin Observatory, students, and enthusiasts from the Netherlands will gather for a watch party to mark this event.

What makes the Vera C. Rubin Observatory so powerful is its ability to capture extremely faint objects across a vast area of the sky. It’s expected to detect billions of galaxies, explains theoretical physicist Elisa Chisari. “It really is a leap in quality,” she says with excitement. “Additionally, Rubin won’t make a map, but a video, which will undoubtedly lead to unexpected discoveries.”

Text continues below image

The Rubin Observatory is located on Cerro Pachón, a mountain in central Chile, and will repeatedly scan the sky for ten years using the largest digital camera in the world. The goal is to create an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of our universe. The observatory is named after Vera C. Rubin, an American astronomer who provided the first convincing evidence for dark matter.

Watch parties across the globe

Watch parties will be held across the globe to celebrate the release of Rubin Observatory’s first images. From Rio de Janeiro to Kolkata, scientists, students, and space enthusiasts will come together to watch the livestream and hear from experts who will provide context for this milestone moment. Sign-ups are now open for the watch party at Sonnenborgh in Utrecht, which will feature talks by Elisa Chisari and science historian David Baneke. Also, members of the Dutch Rubin programme from Leiden University will be present for a Q&A. Please find the full programme for the Sonnenborgh watch party here.

Text continues below image

Shaping cosmology

Chisari, speaker and initiator of the event, is a scientist at Utrecht University and is closely involved in the Rubin Observatory. When she moved to the Netherlands five years ago, she was already engaged in the hugely collaborative project and was determined to continue her work. “This telescope will shape the next decade of cosmology,” she says. “I want to be part of it and secure access to its data for my research.” To do so, Chisari brought together colleagues from institutions including Leiden University and the University of Groningen, exploring how Dutch expertise could contribute meaningfully to the Rubin mission.

Contributions from the Netherlands

Chisari now serves as the programme manager for the Dutch contribution to the Rubin Observatory. Her own research is primarily carried out within the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration, where she helps lead the analysis of data to study the universe using still images of galaxies and stars provided by the observatory during the upcoming years.

The Netherlands also made a key technical contribution through researchers at Leiden University and Radboud University, who developed a crucial piece of hardware known as DREAM. This advanced all-sky observation system tracks cloud coverage in real time, helping guide the telescope on where to point for optimal observations.

The mystery of dark energy

Rubin Observatory’s namesake once said: “Don’t shoot for the stars, we already know what’s there. Shoot for the space in between because that’s where the real mystery lies.” In this spirit, Chisari will use data from the Rubin Observatory to explore the nature of dark energy, which is the force that is driving the expansion of the universe. She focuses on analysing the shapes of galaxies, which can reveal clues about how dark energy is pushing galaxies apart.