NOIRLab

BREAKING: The largest 3D map of the Universe is now complete 🌌 Last night @desisurvey, mounted on the Nicholas U/ Mayall 4 meter telescope at @KittPeakNatObs, finished its 5-year survey of the cosmos, mapping 47M+ galaxies and quasars. 🔗noirlab.edu/public/news/no…

Our Solar System brings the drama in these pictures: 🌞 A green flash & solar eclipse captured near Gemini North, ½ of @GeminiObs 🌝 A lunar eclipse above NSF @KittPeakNatObs ☄️ Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) over Maunakea 🪐 An infrared view of Jupiter by Gemini North

You may have heard that there are more stars in the Universe than grains of sand on Earth. This view, captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. @VrubinObs makes this fact feel very real. Explore the full image in SkyViewer 🔗 bit.ly/4eRktDY 📷 RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

@sophiethinks_p @KittPeakNatObs Hello! The 4-meter is only running observations for the DESI Survey. For up-to-date information on seeing conditions at NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory, please see www-kpno.kpno.noirlab.edu/Info/Mtn_Weath…

NSF @KittPeakNatObs has telescopes galore, but what are those other buildings? The brick buildings include administrative offices, a cafeteria, and dorms where our observers sleep during the day. The right 2 white cylinders store water. 📷KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/B. Pinlaut

POV: You’re an Andean condor getting a good look at your desert neighbor 🦅 This bird’s-eye view of NSF–DOE @VRubinObs was captured high above Cerro Pachón in Chile: an ideal location for condors and telescopes. 📸 RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA/T. Matsopoulos

@sofi6889 @KittPeakNatObs Great question! These water tanks hold our supply of clean water used for our kitchen, restrooms, and other facilities. Amazingly, this water is harvested from rain at Kitt Peak and it’s processed right on the mountain! 🔗 noirlab.edu/public/blog/ob…

@NOIRLabAstro @KittPeakNatObs so the water tanks are for the coffee or the cooling system?

Tell that Andean mountain cat we said, “pspspsps…” 🫴🐈 The SOAR Telescope day crew recently welcomed some unexpected guest observers to Cerro Pachón. A pair of Gatos Andinos, an endangered species of Chilean wildcat, were spotted near the observatory! 📷 SOAR Day Crew

It’s time for the July Globe at Night campaign! 🌙✨ Go outside after sunset and find this month’s constellations. Then compare what you see with our star charts and submit your observation 🌍📲 globeatnight.org 📸 E. Slawik/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani

NSF NOIRLab is a proud partner of Asteroids2029. ☄️ The launch of Asteroids2029 marks the beginning of a worldwide initiative supporting the UN International Year of Asteroid Awareness and Planetary Defense. 🔗bit.ly/3SAXFzL 📸 Asteroids2029.org

It’s the 4th of July! NSF @KittPeakNatObs has shaped U.S. astronomy research since 1958, and now it’s part of #Passport250, Arizona’s statewide celebration of our nation’s 250th birthday! 🔭✨ #America250AZ

🌌 NGC 3981 looks like it’s trying to hold it together after a long week. Its stretched spiral arms were likely shaped by a gravitational encounter with another galaxy long ago ✨ 📷: Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

The Legacy Survey of Space and Time has begun.🔒✨ NSF–DOE @VRubinObs is on a mission to capture the entire southern sky with 🌎’s biggest digital camera, night after night, year after year. 🔗 bit.ly/4oZ7V0O 📷 NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA

🌑✨ Throwback to the 2019 total solar eclipse over Chile! Enjoy these images of the total solar eclipse above NSF Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab, on 2 July 2019. 📷: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Marenfeld

NOIRLab on Camera 📸 Our latest blog shares a behind-the-lens look at how NSF NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassadors capture the beauty of the night sky through photos, videos, planetarium shows, and more. 🔗bit.ly/4gQLb0K

Spend 10 weeks doing astronomy in Chile! 🌌🔭 The REU program gives undergraduate students from the US the opportunity to work with astronomers & science operations staff at NSF NOIRLab, gaining hands-on research experience in astronomy & astrophysics 🔗 bit.ly/4au6gu1

This image was captured outside the SOAR Telescope on Cerro Pachón in Chile. Visible are: 🌌The Milky Way ☁️The Large Magellanic Cloud & Small Magellanic Cloud 💥The laser guide star of Gemini South, ½ of the International @GeminiObs 📸: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/T. Slovinský

🔍Explore the full 1.7-gigapixel image here 🔗bit.ly/4xSwf8F 📸: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA 🎶: Pixabay/SigmaMusicArt

This image showcases the power of Rubin Observatory and its LSST Camera, the largest digital camera in the world. This photo exemplifies what Rubin was built for: incredibly wide views of the cosmos and an ability to detect extremely faint objects.

Experience an unprecedented view of our Milky Way, captured by NSF–DOE @VRubinObs. 🔭✨ Inside the constellation Lupus, an ocean of stars glitters. The faint clouds of interstellar gas and dust are known as galactic cirrus.

NSF–DOE @VRubinObs has begun capturing its decade-long film of the Universe: The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) 🎬 Rubin will use the largest camera ever built to repeatedly capture images across the ENTIRE southern sky for a decade. 🔭✨ 🔗 bit.ly/4oZ7V0O