The first national U.S. observatory named after a female astronomer is set to open in 2022.
The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, currently under construction in Chile, will be called the National Science Foundation (NSF) Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
The title recognizes Rubin’s role in understanding dark matter—one of the observatory survey’s four main themes: probing dark energy/matter, inventorying the Solar System, exploring the transient optical sky, mapping the Milky Way.
“Named after an astronomer who provided important evidence of the existence of dark matter, the NSF Vera C. Rubin Observatory seems destined to make science history with its extraordinary capabilities that will come to bear in the next few years,” NSF Director France Córdova said in a statement.
“The Rubin Observatory is expected to significantly advance what we know about dark matter and dark energy,” she continued. “So the Rubin name will have yet another way to inspire women and men eager to investigate.”
Spearheaded by House Science, Space, and Technology Committee chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and Congresswoman Jennifer González-Colón, the renaming initiative launched in June 2019. It was signed into law on Dec. 20.
Science operations at the observatory, located on the Cerro Pachón mountain in Chile, will begin in 2022.
During its first 10 years, the integrated telescope-and-camera system will deliver an optical survey of the visible sky—the Legacy Survey of Space and Time.
“Through her discovery of dark matter, Vera made one of the most important contributions to science in the past century,” Observatory director Steve Kahn said. “When construction is completed, the Rubin Observatory will build on her pioneering work to dramatically improve our understanding of the universe on many different scales.”
Despite various honors (including the National Medal of Science) and eventual acceptance by her peers (she was voted into the National Academy of Sciences in 1981), Rubin—like most women—experienced gender-based resistance early in her career.
She showed them, though: In between raising four children and advocating for equality in the sciences, she pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates, which provide evidence for the existence of dark matter.
Rubin died on Christmas Day in 2016.
“Dr. Rubin’s life and singular achievements as a scientist remain a model for all those seeking to satisfy humanity’s unceasing curiosity about our universe,” according to Paul Dabbar, DOE undersecretary for science.
“We believe that this is a great way to honor our mother’s achievements in astronomy and her work for equal rights for women in science,” sons Allan, David, and Karl Rubin added.
Earlier this week, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope spotted “Godzilla galaxy” UGC 2885—the largest known system in the universe, nicknamed “Rubin’s galaxy” after the late astronomer.
More on Geek.com:
- ESO Telescope Helps Astronomers Uncover Milky Way’s Past
- NASA Telescope’s ‘Starglasses’ Make It Easier to Spot Exoplanets
- Hubble Space Telescope Takes Close-Up of Not-So-‘Dead’ Galaxy
from Geek.com https://ift.tt/37SIYLL
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment