LSST:UK Science
Bringing the night sky to life, the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory will create the most detailed view of the cosmos ever generated. It will produce a treasure trove of discoveries that will change the way we think about the Universe.
Known as the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), the sky survey will be an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition, time-lapse to help scientists make countless discoveries. Some of these will advance science in ways we can’t yet predict.
Innovative algorithms
When Rubin is operational, it will be like turning on a hosepipe of data. How will scientists keep up?
The answer is: thanks to robust, speedy algorithms. The camera will capture rare events that might otherwise go unnoticed. Algorithms will take the captured data and transform it into meaningful science products that will enable us to understand the Universe like never before.
Rubin's key science areas
The Rubin Observatory was designed to help us grow our knowledge through four main science goals.
Understanding the nature of dark matter and dark energy
Together, dark matter and dark energy make up around 95% of our Universe; we know they exist yet they remain a mystery of scientists. Rubin's wide field and faint object detection will enable detailed exploration of these phenomena.
Creating an inventory of the Solar System
Rubin will reveal four times more solar system objects than we currently know about. Its census of our Solar System will find millions of new asteroids, comets and other objects. With asteroid-detection capability, Rubin will also play a role in planetary defence.
Mapping the Milky Way
How did the Milky Way form and evolve? By producing a map of the Milky Way that is 1,000 times larger than any previous survey, Rubin will provide the best insight into our home galaxy to date. This provides a model that helps us understand more about galaxy growth and evolution.
Exploring objects that change over time
The sky is constantly changing, filled with phenomena that go bang, travel and pulsate. By recording dynamic events, Rubin will help us understand the Universe like never before. To help scientists study the potential 10 million changes in the sky every night, Rubin will send alerts of a group of community brokers, including the UK-based Lasair. These brokers will enable the community to study these events in more detail.
LSST will drive research across all areas of astronomy and will require technological advances to meet its ambitious goals. This section highlights many of the scientific and technical contributions that UK researchers are making to LSST.