Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Vera C. Rubin Observatory : Recently, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, perched high in the Chilean Andes, released its first test images—marking a major milestone in astronomy.

o This achievement paves the way for groundbreaking discoveries about the universe, including the evolution of the Milky Way, the possible existence of Planet Nine, the nature of dark energy, and the detection of potentially hazardous asteroids near Earth..

• About Vera C. Rubin Observatory : Will conduct the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) for 10 years.

o Goal: To build a detailed, multi-color, time-based catalogue of the southern night sky.

o Why is it powerful : LSSTCam: Equipped with the world’s most powerful digital camera (3.2 gigapixels).

o Wide Field of View: Captures an area equivalent to 40 full Moons in a single image.

o Rapid Scanning: Can image the entire southern sky every few nights.

o High Sensitivity: Detects faint and fast-changing celestial objects with unmatched precision.

o Utilizes a three-mirror system for maximum sky coverage and clarity: Primary mirror: 8.4 metres, Secondary mirror: 3.5 metres and Tertiary mirror: 5 metres (integrated into the primary).

• About Planet Nine: A hypothetical planet believed to exist in the outer reaches of the solar system. Proposed based on the unusual orbital clustering of several extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs).

o Thought to exert a gravitational influence that shapes the orbits of these distant, icy bodies.