Tootfinder

"As of June 2026, the delivered image quality from the Vera C. #Rubin Observatory is not yet meeting design specifications for the total system contribution to the PSF FWHM, ellipticity, and uniformity of the PSF size and shape across the field of view. A technical pathway exists to meet all of the SRD design specifications with continued work on the Active Optics System (AOS) and environment control. We present an image quality improvement plan based [on] analyses and experience from the Early Operations system optimization period, including strategy, priorities, and milestones for image quality improvements" - here it is: https://sotn-004.lsst.io/ h/t @…

Rubin Observatory Opens Deep Window on Famous Cosmic Field: #Rubin image featuring hundreds of thousands of distant galaxies in and around the #COSMOSField marks the Observatory’s first #LSST Camera image and catalog release for science.

Rubin LSST DP2 unveils almost-dark galaxies in the Virgo Cluster: #galaxies identified in Data Preview 2 of the #Rubin Legacy Survey of Space and Time. We present a population of seven almost-dark galaxies identified in Data Preview 2 of the Rubin Legacy Survey of Space and Time. They surround M49 in the vicinity of the #VirgoCluster [...]. Their characteristics are analogous to those of the faintest and low-mass galaxies identified among satellite galaxies And XXI, And XXIII, and And XXV in the Local Group. This discovery demonstrates the power of the forthcoming Rubin LSST 10-year survey to uncover extremely faint galaxies at scale, promising the large statistical samples needed to constrain the faint-end luminosity function and the nature of dark matter."

Discovery of the Distant, Ultra-Faint Milky Way Satellite Aquarius IV with the Vera C. #Rubin Observatory Early Data Preview 2: https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.02601 -> An Early Discovery by Rubin Observatory: https://astrobites.org/2026/09/08/rubin-first-ultrafaint-dwarf/