Free Astronomy Magazine September-October 2026

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2026 ASTRO PUBLISHING T his infographic gives an overv- iew of NSF–DOE Rubin Observa- tory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time — a major new exploration of the night sky that will transform our understanding of the Universe. [NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observa- tory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA] servatory will capture the dynamic nature of our cosmos and reveal unimagined insights into our Uni- verse’s biggest mysteries, from our own Solar System to the very struc- ture of the Universe. By seeking to understand the enigmatic phenom- ena of dark energy and dark matter, we are not just observing the stars; we are striving to grasp the funda- mental laws that govern our exis- tence.” “It is amazing and humbling to be here at this time and place as we start the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, after more than two decades of incredible work by our dedicated team,” says Bob Blum, Director of Rubin Observatory at NSF NOIRLab. “Rubin Observatory is for everyone; the LSST will change how we do as- tronomy and astrophysics, allowing researchers anywhere to participate in cutting-edge science.” “It’s taken 20 years of hard science, engineering, and more to get to the point where we can call ‘action’ as we start rolling on this blockbuster movie of the Universe,” says Phil Marshall, Deputy Director of Rubin Operations for SLAC. “Millions of alerts in just the last couple of months show that Rubin is up and running as a discovery machine. Now we’re putting it all together.” “The decision to officially begin the LSST was made after a period of sys- tem optimization and a careful op- erational review of technical read- iness, data system performance, and scientific validation,” says Željko Ivezi ć , Head of LSST. Important fac- tors that played a role in this deci- NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory is open- ing a new window on the Universe. It is embarking on a mission that will redefine modern cosmology and as- trophysics,” says Darío Gil, Under Secretary for Science at the U.S. De- partment of Energy. “With its world- class design and tools, Rubin Ob-