On April 15, 2025, our department was privileged to witness such a moment when the first on-sky engineering data from the Simonyi Telescope's LSSTCam was displayed. This milestone represents not just technological achievement, but the power of collaborative science at its finest. The optical alignments were remarkably close to optimal before even looking at the sky, and in just a handful of on-sky iterations, the system delivered a median image quality of about 1.8 arcsec FWHM across the focal plane. By the second night, sub-arcsecond image quality was achieved across most of the focal plane. The Data Management system efficiently transported and processed the 3-gigapixel images at the US Data Facility within about a minute of acquisition.
None of this would have been possible without the extraordinary contributions from UW and our Pacific Northwest science and technology community. From survey strategy to science pipelines, from image optimization to community support, our Rubin construction team has been integral at every step. The next time you see members of this dedicated team – Eric, Pedro, Neven, Andy C., Krzysztof, Peter F., Melissa, Ari, Nikolina, Erin, Zeljko, Lynne, Bryce, John-Franklin, Jake, Joachim, John, Meredith, Nima, Colin, Brianna, Chris, Ian, David, Peter Y., Audrey, Andy T., Tom W., Connor Y., and many others who have contributed over the years – please congratulate them on this remarkable achievement.
As we look ahead to approximately six months of commissioning to fine-tune the telescope and prepare for the start of LSST, we're planning a series of "First Look" events to celebrate this extraordinary new instrument when the images are released to the public (expected in mid-June or July). Stay tuned for details!
One of these events will be the Rubin Data Sprint. This event will present an exciting opportunity for UW faculty, staff, and students to start working with Rubin data (we have already found cataclysmic variables, AGN, asteroids, and supernovae in the commissioning data). Whether you are experienced in data analysis or just getting started, there will be people available to help you work with the data and tools for analyzing it. The sprint will provide a collaborative environment where participants can explore datasets, develop analytical skills, and connect with others interested in Rubin science.
How should you prepare for the event? Think about the science case you want to try out with the commissioning data (images that span the u,g,r,i,z,y passbands in 7 separate 0.5 degree radius regions on the sky with each region observed between 50 to 900 times over a 5 week period). Bring that idea and start working with the data!
We will host this event in eScience. The exact date will be announced once the Rubin team have finalized the release date, so please stay tuned!