Rubin Observatory Rolls Out Real-Time Sky Alerts to Track the Cosmos
NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory has issued its first public scientific alerts, kickstarting real-time monitoring of the night sky (800,000 alerts issued on Feb 24). The system is designed to scale to as many as seven million alerts per night once the LSST survey begins, flagging supernovae, variable stars, active galactic nuclei, and Solar System objects such as asteroids; alerts are produced within minutes and publicly accessible through a network of brokers to enable rapid, worldwide follow-up observations. Rubin's 3200-megapixel camera and automated image differencing enable this time-domain treasure trove, guiding studies of dark matter, dark energy, and other cosmic mysteries.
