On March 1st, DiRAC will host the first of a series of events “A New Era of Discovery: Mapping the Universe with the Rubin Observatory” at the UW Planetarium. It will be an evening of discussion and learning with UW astronomers building the largest sky survey in human history.

We’re at the brink of a new age of survey-driven discovery in astronomy. Where before we could only study a handful of objects at a time, new detectors, algorithms, and telescopes will soon allow us – and the entire world – to monitor billions.

The flagship of this era will be the Rubin Observatory, set to open in Chile in late 2024. Rubin will continuously gather data for over 20Bn stars, 20Bn galaxies, with billions of asteroid observations. In importance, it is a ground-based peer of the Webb space telescope.

In about a year, DiRAC researchers, students, and citizen scientists will use Rubin to scan the Solar System for hazardous asteroids, discover interstellar comets, and search for new planets in our Solar System. Our codes will map the Milky Way, detect the most energetic explosions in the universe, and help understand Dark Energy. Our students will learn about astronomy by participating in once-in-a-generation wave of discovery.

We’re looking forward to sharing this with the community of enthusiasts, friends, and supporters who make DiRAC possible. 

The event on March 1st reached its capacity very quickly and is now full. If you’d like to join us for the next one please email us at dirac@uw.edu and we’ll send you an early announcement.

For more upcoming events check out our website’s news and events page.

On April 6th, 2023, join us on Husky Giving Day, an annual philanthropy event at the University of Washington – your support will fuel two student focused programs created by the Astronomy Department and DiRAC!

Program for UW Undergrads: Piloted in 2022, “Undergraduate Summer Research Prize” for UW undergrads will continue in 2023 – please support it and allow more students to participate! This program will award $3500 to UW undergrads working on summer projects with researchers in the DiRAC Institute. Read more about the 2022 cohort here!

Program for UW Grads: A new initiative this year is a “Jumpstart Research” – a program to bring in graduate students over the summer to work with faculty to start their research prior to getting involved in classes.

Our work, from outreach, education, and fundamental research, is made possible in no small part by contributions from supporters like you. Thank you for all of your past support; it has truly made a difference.