The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will release its first set of images on June 23, 2025. The achievement marks the beginning of a new era in astronomy, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will be part of the action as it hosts a first look watch party for both staff and the public.
Anyone is welcome to attend the watch party at the University of California Livermore Collaboration Center.
The watch party will open its doors at 7:30 a.m. PDT and offer light refreshments. The first look unveiling event will start via livestream at 8 a.m. The 90-minute stream will include speakers and the image reveal, followed by discussion and a media question and answer session.
Located on a mountaintop in Chile, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will repeatedly scan the sky for 10 years and create an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of the universe - the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). The Observatory is named after astronomer Vera Rubin, who provided the first convincing evidence for the existence of dark matter.
Rubin is equipped with the LSST Camera - the largest digital camera ever built. LLNL partnered with SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to build the camera and designed a number of major optical components.
LLNL researchers also play a central role in the LSST data processing pipeline. This includes leading working groups within the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration, of which the Laboratory was a founding member.
Watch parties are expected to take place at partner institutions, planetariums, museums, libraries, universities and other organizations in the U.S., Chile and around the world.
