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An ocean of stars. This is one of the first images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's ten-year-long Legacy Survey of Space and Time! The image covers a region of space about 3°, six times the width of a full Moon—only a tiny portion of the gigantic survey Rubin has embarked upon. Open it up!

Paul Byrne

@theplanetaryguy.com

This scene shows a dense starfield in the mid-southern-sky constellation Lupus. Most of these stars are in the Milky Way; the brighter ones (of varying temperatures, sizes, and ages) are closer. Faint wisps of dust form cirrus cloud-like patches. More distant galaxies are also visible.

2/7/26, 1:19 am0 reposts33 likes

Paul Byrne

@theplanetaryguy.com

2 July

The image was acquired with Rubin's LSST 3.2-gigapixel digital camera in three optical wavelengths (480 nm, 622 nm, and 755 nm). Read more, and access the full, 1.7-gigapixel image: rubinobservatory.org/news/action-... Image credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA