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…

🛠️❄️ Every couple of years, Flamingos-2 comes down for a little maintenance break. This instrument at the Gemini South telescope is spending a few weeks in the lab for the replacement of its cryocoolers and checks on components. 📷 @GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/S. Olivares

Gemini North, ½ of @geminiobs, has cameras set up to monitor the sky conditions 24/7. Sometimes the Gemini North CloudCam catches rare sights like: Kīlauea Erupting 🌋 Light pillars from lava at Mauna Loa 🤯 Fireballs ☄️ With CloudCam, we never miss a photo opportunity!

🔮 The Crystal Ball Nebula is not predicting your future, but it is revealing the final stages of a star’s life. This view of NGC 1514 was captured by Gemini North on Maunakea in Hawai’i. 📸@GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

We’re throwing it back to the 60s! These pics are from the construction of the NSF McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope, from 1960 through 1962. Today, it’s the 1st science center inside a working telescope: Taṣogida Ki: Center for Astronomy Outreach.

✨ The night sky over Cerro Pachón looked a little like a painting This view of the @Geminiobs South combines a 6 1/2 minute exposure with an artistic radial motion effect, turning star trails into brush-like streaks across the sky 📷@GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/H. Stockebrand

Astronomy is entering real-time mode ⚡🔭 NSF's @noirlabastro AEON connects major observatories into one automated system that can react to triggers within minutes — from supernovae to neutron star mergers. Built for the NSF-DOE @VRubinObs era 🌌 noirlab.edu/public/project…

🌹✨ The Rosette Nebula would like your attention for a moment This giant star-forming region in the constellation Monoceros covers an area of sky more than six times larger than the full Moon 🌕 📸 T. A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

🍎🌎 Calling all educators! 📅 16 June 2026 ⏰ 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. MST 📍 NSF NOIRLab Headquarters 950 N Cherry Ave, Tucson, AZ Register: bit.ly/4eSBtKd

The spectrum of the binary star system Eta Carinae is seen here like a rainbow, stretching from ultraviolet to infrared. Spectra like this can tell scientists detailed information about an object’s chemical composition, motion, rotation & distance. 📷: CTIO/NOIRLab/SOAR/NSF/AURA

🌈✨ Happy International Day of Light On March 28, 2001, skies above NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab, lit up with something rarely seen that far south: a bright aurora. 👇 Have you ever seen an aurora this far south? 📸 Adam Block/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Happy 20th birthday to Globe at Night!✨ To celebrate, people across the globe are sharing the important message of protecting and restoring our starry night skies. Join our fight against light pollution by submitting observations to globeatnight.org. 🌎

👀👋 POV: you check on your neighbor… and they check back Top: NSF NOIRLab telescopes on Cerro Pachón & Cerro Tololo, spotted from La Silla Observatory operated by @ESO. Bottom: the return look 👀. La Silla seen from NSF @CerroTololo. 📸 NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. Srba, P. Horálek

Are you dizzy yet? 😵‍💫 Star trails in this extra-long-exposure image of NSF–DOE @VRubinObs capture the apparent motion of the stars. Rubin will observe about 17 billion stars during its 10-year survey. 📸 NSF-DOE @VRubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA/H. Stockebrand

NSF NOIRLab is looking for a Program Financial Analyst to help support the financial planning and operations behind some of the world’s leading astronomical facilities 🔭 Apply here: ow.ly/gwmm50YYtCw

Crepuscular rays are seen here at dusk over the Gemini South telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, operated by NSF NOIRLab. 📷: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek

Our latest blog post gives you a glimpse into the pages of The Scope, NSF NOIRLab’s newest publication. 🤩 Read about what we do to protect the skies over the best astronomical sites! Blog 🔗 bit.ly/4u6thLs The Scope 🔗 bit.ly/4tiFOdv

Introducing The Scope: NSF NOIRLab’s NEWEST publication! The Scope illuminates the possibilities for early-career professionals looking to work in astronomy and shows the passion behind scientific research. Read here 🔗 bit.ly/4tiFOdv

While it may look like Gemini North is sending out the bat signal, this timelapse image shows the telescope’s Laser Guide Star in action. Gemini North is one half of the International @GeminiObs, operated by NSF NOIRLab. 📷: @GeminiObs/AURA/Joy Pollard

👀 This Image of the Week looks like it was taken through a piece of glass, but it was not! Those glowing vertical streaks in the top right are light pillars, captured by a CloudCam at the @Geminiobs North Telescope. 📷: @GeminiObs/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. Pollard

This 📸 of Pickering's Triangle was taken with the NSF Mayall 4-meter Telescope at @kittpeaknatobs. Astronomers estimate that the supernova that made this nebula happened ~5000–10,000 years ago. 📸 WIYN/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) & H. Schweiker