This is it. The FIRST released video from @VRubinObs. A new era of astronomy starts now! ✨. How many galaxies do you think are in this image? 10 MILLION 🤯. Here, Rubin’s view is focused on the southern region of the Virgo Cluster. 📹: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

This is the star-forming Trifid Nebula, as imaged by @VRubinObs. The Trifid Nebula is an unusual combination of an open cluster, an emission nebula (pink region), a reflection nebula ( blue region), and a dark nebula (dark regions). 📸 RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

That tiny speck atop the foreground peak?. It’s the Blanco 4-meter Telescope at @cerrotololo, searching for dark energy in Chile 🇨🇱✨. With its massive Dark Energy Camera onboard it maps galaxies & supernovae to uncover the mystery of cosmic expansion. 📸 CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

What the peck? Is this our @KittPeakNatObs Daytime Tour guide? 🫤. No, but this Acorn Woodpecker is very familiar with Kitt Peak. These birds live along the Western edges of North and Latin America, from Oregon to Colombia!. Book your tour 👉 .📸M. White

Talk about working with a view! 🏔️ Maintenance technicians, Eduardo Vega, Iver Rojas, and Alfredo Torres, were recovering vent gates and cleaning snow at Gemini South 🇨🇱, one half of @geminiobs, when this spectacular photo was taken. 🤳. 📷@geminiobs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/S. Olivares

Need a new wallpaper from #RubinFirstLook 🔍? This is part of the Virgo Cluster as imaged by NSF–DOE @VRubinObs. The galaxy at the top is NGC 4261. Below are NGC 4281, NGC 4277, NGC 4273 & NGC 4268. There are ~1500 galaxies in this cluster!. 📸RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

🚨 Abstracts & registration now open for the 2025 @noirlabastro Conference: The Solar System in Context . 📍 Tucson | 29 Sep–2 Oct.🌟 Explore planetary systems from the Solar System to exoplanets!. 📝 Abstracts due: 11 July.✅ Register by: 15 Sep. 🔗 Info:

🚨 It’s #AsteroidDay!. ✅ Appreciating cosmic rocks. ❌ No need to panic —we’re watching them 😌.Telescopes like @VRubinObs & @cerrotololo help spot, track, and study near-Earth objects. Because nothing says “I care” like monitoring 30,000 mph space boulders. 🪨.(You’re welcome)

Six undergrads will head to Chile for the NOIRLab REU Chile program for 10 weeks of hands-on astronomy research and observe at world-class astronomical telescopes. 📍 La Serena, Chile.📅 Apply by 15 September 2025.📍 Program runs 12 Jan – 13 Mar 2026.🔗

RT @VRubinObs: Did someone say #NationalCameraDay? 📷. We wanted to celebrate ours by creating a giant 3200-megapixel group photo inspired b….

We loved hosting this year’s #SummerStars! 🌟.Educators from across the U.S. joined @VRubinObs & @NOIRLabAstro in Arizona to explore Rubin data tools, visit @KittPeakNatObs, and bring real astronomy back to their classrooms. 🔭📊 . 📷 NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. Schaen

This comparison reveals asteroids (tri-colored streaks) zipping by a portion of the Virgo Cluster, captured by NSF–DOE @VRubinObs for First Look. In 1 year, Rubin will have detected more asteroids than all other previous telescopes combined!. 📸RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

The Blanco 4-meter Telescope is pictured here with its bestie, the SMARTS 1.5-meter Telescope. They hang out together every night on @CerroTololo in Chile. 🙂‍↕️🤞.This long-exposure image shows the motion of the stars throughout the night!. 📸CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/D. Munizaga

This is the open star cluster Messier 21 as seen by @VRubinObs. Open clusters are loose groups of stars born from the same cloud of gas and dust. The white-blue stars here are relatively young, small, and dim. 📸: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

❄️ Snow much fun… again! ❄️. Our NOIRLab telescopes at Cerro Pachón, Chile, just scored their second snowfall of the year! Not exactly a blizzard, but hey — who’s complaining when the domes get a frosty makeover?. Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/F. Bruno

Even remote, high-altitude telescopes like @Geminiobs North on Maunakea can’t escape light from satellite constellations. While invisible to us, they leave bright streaks in sensitive long-exposure images. 🛰️🌌. 📷 GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. Pollard

The 2 spiral galaxies (NGC 4411) on the bottom of this image taken by NSF–DOE @VRubinObs don’t show signs of gravitational interaction. The galaxies on the top (RSCG 55) are pulled together by gravity, forming bridges of stars, gas, and dust. 📸RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

🧐 A closer look after #RubinFirstLook:.@VRubinObs’s giant image reveals two cosmic icons — the Trifid & Lagoon Nebulae, both stellar nurseries glowing ~4000 light-years away. 📸 RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

Revealing the Trifid and Lagoon Nebula as never seen before, by NSF–DOE @VRubinObs. This 📷 combines 678 separate exposures in over 7 hours of observing time. Rubin captures huge images fast, thanks to its ultra-wide view and unmatched speed. 📷RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

The sky never stops changing and NSF–DOE @VRubinObs is watching with the world’s largest camera!. In this 🎥 Rubin showcases 46 subtly pulsating stars. In the next 10 years, Rubin will detect ~100,000 of them, helping map the Milky Way’s halo. 📹RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

🚨Epic! NSF–DOE @VRubinObs discovered 2,104 never-before-seen asteroids in our Solar System! ☄️. Currently, all the world's observatories discover ~20,000 asteroids per year. Rubin discovered over 2,100 in just a few nights!. 📹: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA.#RubinFirstLook