Croatian professor leads largest astronomical survey in history at Chile observatory

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has commenced the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), marking the start of the most extensive astronomical survey ever undertaken. This decade-long project, led by Professor Željko Ivezić from the University of Rijeka, aims to revolutionize our understanding of the universe.

During its 10-year mission, the observatory will continuously image the entire southern sky from its location on Cerro Pachón mountain. This systematic mapping will generate the most detailed and comprehensive astronomical picture of the cosmos in human history. The data collected will be used to create the largest astronomical database, expected to contain around 40 billion celestial objects.

Professor Ivezić, who is also a member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, emphasized that the official start followed extensive system optimization, data processing validation, and technical readiness checks. Key criteria included image quality, observation efficiency, system reliability, and calibration precision.

The observatory is equipped with the world's largest digital camera, boasting a resolution of 3,200 megapixels. Its unique telescope design combines significant light-gathering capability with rapid sky-scanning and a very wide field of view. The camera will capture a new image of the sky approximately every 40 seconds, generating about 10 terabytes of data nightly and issuing up to seven million alerts daily about changes in the night sky.