(C) U.S. State Dept
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U.S. observatory in Chile reveals a changing universe [1]

['Lauren Monsen']

Date: 2025-07-07 14:24:53+00:00

Asteroids racing through the solar system, pulsating stars and millions of galaxies are among the first images a new observatory has captured from its stargazing summit in Cerro Pachón, Chile.

Opened in June 2025, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, designed and built by the U.S. government, will provide an unprecedented amount of data to the world’s physicists and astronomers over the next decade and unleash new discoveries.

The Rubin observatory — named for the American astronomer who confirmed the existence of dark matter, which binds galaxies together — continues America’s long-standing tradition of technological innovation. From the telephone to the airplane, to lasers and computers, the fruits of U.S. ingenuity enrich our world.

American ingenuity is currently advancing space exploration through NASA’s Artemis missions to return to the moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars. The U.S. is collaborating with businesses and nations on innovations to support a sustained human presence on the moon. Some of those innovations are displayed at the USA Pavilion at World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.

The Rubin observatory’s telescope is equipped with the world’s largest digital camera and will generate more data than all other previous telescopes of its kind.

Over the next decade, it will conduct a Legacy Survey of Space and Time, creating an ultrawide, ultrahigh-definition time-lapse record of the universe — or, as the observatory calls it, “the largest astronomical movie of all time.”

Northwestern University scientists who work with the observatory say it could “potentially transform humanity’s understanding of the universe.” Researchers at the school, which is located near Chicago, are building artificial intelligence tools to process data the observatory collects. “This is a transformative moment for astronomy,” says Vicky Kalogera, an astrophysicist at Northwestern.

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[1] Url: https://share.america.gov/us-observatory-in-chile-reveals-changing-universe/

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