Australian scientists help unveil new era of astronomy with new global telescope

Xinhua
23 Jun 2025, 15:45 GMT+10

SYDNEY, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Australian scientists are marking a significant breakthrough in astronomy as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile unveils its first images from a revolutionary new telescope.

The observatory, featuring the world's largest digital camera and a powerful eight-meter mirror, will scan the entire southern sky every few nights, capturing unprecedented detail and enabling real-time detection of cosmic events, according to a release from the University of Melbourne on Monday.

The Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time, named for pioneering astronomer Vera Rubin who first measured dark matter in galaxies, will gather around 20 terabytes of data each night, producing an unparalleled, high-resolution time-lapse of the universe over the next decade, the release said.

Scientists expect to receive up to 10 million alerts daily for changes in brightness or position of celestial objects, paving the way for discoveries of potentially unknown phenomena, it said.

Australian software engineers and data specialists from 15 institutions have been instrumental in developing advanced code and artificial intelligence tools for the project, it added.

"Almost 30 years after the idea was first conceived, and after a decade of construction, the telescope represents a truly exciting leap forward in astrophysics," said Rachel Webster, science lead for the Australian collaboration from the University of Melbourne.

The telescope will shed light on dark matter, dark energy and galaxy evolution, while complementing research with Australia's Square Kilometer Array, Webster said.

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