Original URL: https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2025/06/northwestern-scientists-launch-projects-using-the-vera-c-rubin-observatory
By Amanda Morris (Northwestern Now, June 24, 2025)
With the release of its first images yesterday, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is one giant step closer to launching its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST)—a decade-long astronomical investigation that will potentially transform humanity’s understanding of the universe.
Several Northwestern University scientists have played integral roles in LSST since 2014, contributing scientific leadership and innovation that helped shape the endeavor.
“Northwestern’s involvement has been critical in preparing for the immense discovery potential of the Rubin Observatory,” said Northwestern astrophysicist Vicky Kalogera. “This is a transformative moment for astronomy, and we’re proud to be at the forefront.”
Jointly funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy, the LSST will generate the widest, deepest images of the southern sky and create the first-ever comprehensive, multicolor movie of the night sky as it changes over time. The project will generate 20 terabytes of data per night, potentially holding answers to the universe’s most elusive secrets, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy, the formation of galaxies, and the creation of elements by stars and their explosions.
Members of Northwestern’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI, pronounced “sky”) will develop and refine AI tools capable of processing the unprecedented amounts of data as well as lead projects to understand the evolution of stars, search for the origins of heavy elements and uncover new cosmic explosions. Kalogera, who is the Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, directs CIERA and the SkAI Institute. To read more, see https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2025/06/northwestern-scientists-launch-projects-using-the-vera-c-rubin-observatory
The SkAI Institute is one of the National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and Simons Foundation.
Information on National AI Institutes is available at aiinstitutes.org.
