To accomplish this, we need:

1) a large telescope mirror to be sensitive - 8m (6.7m)

2) a large field-of-view for sky-scanning speed - 10 deg2

3) high spatial resolution, high quality images - 0.2''/pixels

4) process images in realtime and offline to produce 10M nightly alerts and catalogs of all 37B objects

>=18000 sq degrees

~800 visits per field

2 visits per night (within ~30 min for asteroids)

+ 5x10sq deg Deep Drilling Fields with ~8000 visits

Objective: to provide a science-ready dataset to transform the 4 key science area

LSST Science Drivers

Probing Dark Energy and Dark Matter

Mapping the Milky Way and Local Volume

Building an unprecedented catalog of Solar System Objects

Exploring the Transient Optical Sky

To accomplish this, we need:

1) a large telescope mirror to be sensitive - 8m (6.7m)

2) a large field-of-view for sky-scanning speed - 10 deg2

3) high spatial resolution, high quality images - 0.2''/pixels

4) process images in realtime and offline to produce live alerts and catalogs of all 37B objects 

Objective: to provide a science-ready dataset to transform the 4 key science area

2025

artist (me) impression of the first image taken by ComCam

The DOE LSST Camera - 3.2 Gigapixel

3024 science raft amplifier channels

Camera and Cryostat integration completed at SLAC in May 2022,

Shutter and filter auto-changer integrated into camera body

LSSTCam undergoing final stages of testing at SLAC

Eye to the sky…on-sky engineering tests have begun at @nsfgov–@energy Rubin Observatory using the world’s largest digital camera!🔭

April 17 2025
 

First Look

Event

 678 separate images taken in just over seven hours of observing time.  Trifid nebula (top right) and the Lagoon nebula, which are several thousand light-years away from Earth. | NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Virgo cluster. Visible are two prominent spiral galaxies (lower right), three merging galaxies (upper right), several groups of distant galaxies, many stars in the Milky Way galaxy and more.

First Look

Event

https://sitcomtn-005.lsst.io/

LSST Science Book (2009)

Rubin LSST survey design

2017

80,000

Rubin LSST survey design

Rubin has involved the community to an unprecedented level in survey design this is a uniquely "democratic" process!

2019

80,000

Rubin LSST survey design

Rubin has involved the community to an unprecedented level in survey design this is a uniquely "democratic" process!

2023

80,000

Rubin LSST survey design

Rubin has involved the community to an unprecedented level in survey design this is a uniquely "democratic" process!

2024

80,000

Rubin LSST survey design

Rubin has involved the community to an unprecedented level in survey design this is a uniquely "democratic" process!

2024

2024

80,000

Rubin LSST survey design up to 2018

Eric C. Bellm et al 2022 ApJS 258 13

Igor Andreoni et al 2022 ApJS 258 5

Current plan: rolling 8 out of the 10 years

newer simulations ->

newer simulations ->

4 – 24 hour gaps between epochs will enable kilonova parameter estimation

Kilonovae in LSST Wide Fast Deep

Andreoni+ 2022a

Rubin ToO program

Rubin ToO program

Rubin LSST Transients by the numbers

17B stars (x10) Ivezic+19​

~10k SuperLuminous Supernovae (from ~200)Villar+ 2018

~400 strongly lensed SN Ia (from 10) Ardense+24

~3.3M SN II 580k SN Ibc Hložek+20

~1M SNIa (z<0.5) 1M SNIa (z<2) Griz+24

~50 kilonovae (from 2) Setzer+19, Andreoni+19   (+ ToO)

> 10 Interstellar Objects fom 2....    ?)

Rubin LSST Transients by the numbers

17B stars (x10) Ivezic+19​

~10k SuperLuminous Supernovae (from ~200)Villar+ 2018

~400 strongly lensed SN Ia (from 10) Ardense+24

~3.3M SN II 580k SN Ibc Hložek+20

~1M SNIa (z<0.5) 1M SNIa (z<2) Griz+24

~50 kilonovae (from 2) Setzer+19, Andreoni+19   (+ ToO)

> 10 Interstellar Objects fom 2....    ?)

Rubin LSST Transients by the numbers

17B stars (x10) Ivezic+19​

~10k SuperLuminous Supernovae (from ~200)Villar+ 2018

~400 strongly lensed SN Ia (from 10) Ardense+24

~3.3M SN II 580k SN Ibc Hložek+20

~1M SNIa (z<0.5) 1M SNIa (z<2) Griz+24

~50 kilonovae (from 2) Setzer+19, Andreoni+19   (+ ToO)

> 10 Interstellar Objects fom 2....    ?)

Rubin LSST Transients by the numbers

17B stars (x10) Ivezic+19​

~10k SuperLuminous Supernovae (from ~200)Villar+ 2018

~400 strongly lensed SN Ia (from 10) Ardense+24

~3.3M SN II 580k SN Ibc Hložek+20

~1M SNIa (z<0.5) 1M SNIa (z<2) Griz+24

~50 kilonovae (from 2) Setzer+19, Andreoni+19   (+ ToO)

> 10 Interstellar Objects fom 2....    ?)

Rubin LSST Transients by the numbers

17B stars (x10) Ivezic+19​

~10k SuperLuminous Supernovae (from ~200)Villar+ 2018

~400 strongly lensed SN Ia (from 10) Ardense+24

~3.3M SN II 580k SN Ibc Hložek+20

~300k SNIa (z<0.3) ~800k SNIa (z<1) "well observed"Griz+24

~50 kilonovae (from 2) Setzer+19, Andreoni+19   (+ ToO)

> 10 Interstellar Objects fom 2....    ?)

Rubin LSST Transients by the numbers

17B stars (x10) Ivezic+19​

~10k SuperLuminous Supernovae (from ~200)Villar+ 2018

~400 strongly lensed SN Ia (from 10) Ardense+24

~3.3M SN II 580k SN Ibc Hložek+20

~300k SNIa (z<0.3) ~800k SNIa (z<1) "well observed"Griz+24

~50 kilonovae (from 2) Setzer+19, Andreoni+19   (+ ToO)

> 10 Interstellar Objects fom 2....    ?)

Rubin LSST Transients by the numbers

17B stars (x10) Ivezic+19​

~10k SuperLuminous Supernovae (from ~200)Villar+ 2018

~400 strongly lensed SN Ia (from 10) Ardense+24

~3.3M SN II 580k SN Ibc Hložek+20

~300k SNIa (z<0.3) ~800k SNIa (z<1) "well observed"Griz+24

~50 kilonovae (from 2) Setzer+19, Andreoni+19   (+ ToO)

> 10 Interstellar Objects fom 2...     ?)

True Novelties!

Rubin LSST Transients by the numbers

17B stars (x10) Ivezic+19​

~10k SuperLuminous Supernovae (from ~200)Villar+ 2018

~400 strongly lensed SN Ia (from 10) Ardense+24

~3.3M SN II 580k SN Ibc Hložek+20

~300k SNIa (z<0.3) ~800k SNIa (z<1) "well observed"Griz+24

~50 kilonovae (from 2) Setzer+19, Andreoni+19   (+ ToO)

> 10 Interstellar Objects fom 2....    ?)