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Researchers hope Rubin's observations will help them take a
better census of the universe, mapping billions of stars in the
Milky Way and billions more galaxies beyond it. It takes
pictures quickly and will grab images of the same areas of sky
multiple times, allowing scientists to glimpse fainter objects
that previously eluded detection.
“We’re going to see large numbers of scientists across the world
working with this data set, studying the universe in a way that
they haven’t been able to before,” said Phil Marshall, the
observatory's deputy director of operations.
Rubin released its first images last year, including colorful
shots of the Trifid and Lagoon nebulas located thousands of
light-years from Earth. A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles
(9.7 trillion kilometers).
Since then, researchers have tuned up the equipment so it's
ready to take pictures at the depth and accuracy required for
the decade-long survey. The images may help scientists discern
how galaxies form and cluster over billions of years, and how
the universe came to be.
Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and U.S.
Department of Energy, the observatory is named after astronomer
Vera Rubin, who offered the first tantalizing evidence that a
mysterious material called dark matter might be lurking in the
universe. Researchers hope the effort may yield clues about dark
matter as well as an equally puzzling force known as dark
energy.
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