DiRAC Event: Planetarium Experience & Lab Tour

On November 16th, 2023 we would like to invite you to the DiRAC Planetarium Event “A New Era of Discovery: Mapping the Universe with the Rubin Observatory”. The event will take place at the UW Planetarium.

Join us for an evening of discussion and learning with UW astronomers building the largest sky survey in human history. Please reserve your spot here, there are limited number of seats available.

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 2025. 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. 

Join us at this special event to meet our team, and learn what is to come from the most powerful sky survey telescope ever built!