Rubin First Look Watch Party at Purdue University June 23, 2025

The release of the first images from the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is right around the corner. This will mark the beginning of a new era in astronomy, and we invite you to take part.

Purdue University Physics and Astronomy invites you to the only official public watch party in Indiana, either in person or via stream. We welcome the public to the unveiling of these images and to learn how Purdue was involved in the formation of this state-of-the-art, land-based observatory.

Scroll down to the bottom of this page for the Event Schedule.

The event will begin at 11:00 AM on Monday, June 23, in the Lawson 1130 Commons at 305 N. University Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907. At noon, we will begin our expert panel and Q&A, and this will be livestreamed on the Purdue Physics and Astronomy's K-12 Outreach YouTube channel, Saturday Morning Astrophysics at Purdue. Light refreshments will be served throughout the event.

Parking passes will be good for any non-gated lot on campus. Attendees will need to provide their license plate numbers at the venue to register for parking.

Please register for the event using the link above if you plan to attend virtually or in person.

Rubin Observatory stands on Cerro Pachón in Chile against a sky full of star trails in this long exposure night sky image. Credit: Hernan Stockebrand

A Story Told in Two Parts

The Rubin First Look unveiling event is the primary feature of Rubin First Look Watch Parties and will include the reveal of the Rubin Observatory's first images. The main unveiling event will be held at 11:00 a.m. EDT on Monday, June 23rd, 2025, in the Fred Kavli Auditorium at the National Academy of Sciences Building. This portion will be livestreamed in Lawson at Purdue University.

Once this event concludes at noon on June 23rd, we will begin our Purdue public watch party to discuss what we all just witnessed on the official image unveiling. You'll hear from faculty, alumni, and students who have worked with the Rubin Observatory. You'll also hear how you can get involved in this project and use the data in your own astronomy projects.

Rubin Observatory August 2024. Credit: Rubin Observatory/NSF/AURA/A. Pizarro D.

What is the Rubin Observatory?

The NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is a collaborative project between the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The Rubin Observatory is a state-of-the-art astronomy and astrophysics facility in Cerro Pachón in Chile. Named in honor of astronomer Vera Rubin, whose groundbreaking work provided compelling evidence for dark matter, the observatory is expected to see first light in 2025.

Rubin Observatory represents a new era in observational astronomy. From its innovative mirror design and ultra-sensitive camera to its rapid survey capability and powerful data systems, every component pushes the boundaries of what’s been done before.

At the heart of the observatory is the 8.4-meter Simonyi Survey Telescope, which will use the world’s largest digital camera, called the LSST Camera, to capture high-resolution images of the southern sky. Over the course of a decade, it will scan the sky every few nights, generating a dynamic, wide-field, time-lapse view of the universe. The Rubin Observatory will make the most comprehensive astronomical movie ever created.

This unprecedented dataset will enable discoveries across the cosmos. It will help track asteroids and observe distant supernovae to probe the fundamental nature of dark matter and dark energy, and perhaps uncover phenomena we haven’t yet imagined.

Why Purdue University?

Multiple faculty and students in the Physics and Astronomy Department at Purdue were involved throughout the process of Rubin Observatory's construction and the design of its scientific programs. During our event at Noon on June 23rd, 2025, we will dive into how members of Purdue University had a hand in making the world's largest digital camera ever constructed.

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory began as a vision in the early 1990s. That vision was a telescope powerful enough to unlock the mysteries of dark matter and explore the Universe in unprecedented detail. Designed to detect faint objects and short-lived cosmic events, it will catalog asteroids, reveal distant parts of our Solar System, and make vast amounts of data publicly available, opening the door for discoveries by both scientists and citizen astronomers.

Construction officially began in 2015 on Cerro Pachón in Chile, with global collaboration bringing together the observatory’s cutting-edge components, which include its 3,200-megapixel camera, massive mirrors, and advanced telescope mount. In 2019, the observatory was renamed to honor pioneering astronomer Vera C. Rubin, becoming the first major U.S. astronomy facility named after a woman. As construction nears completion, the observatory is entering the final testing phase, preparing to begin a 10-year sky survey that promises to transform our understanding of the cosmos.