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Introduction
EDI training session for Exec Group
User Committee meeting: https://community.lsst.org/t/users-committee-report-december-13-2024/9645
Look ahead to 2025 - both for Rubin and LSST:UK
Rubin Holidays 2025 animated card - https://rubinobservatory.org/news/happy-holidays-from-rubin-2024
EoI for access to AIRR (Cinzia Porcedda email 7/1/25)
ComCam press release - https://rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-completes-comcam-tests (more details from Graham below)
Catherine Heymans interviews: BBC Radior 4 Today programme (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0kgh6ds , timestamp 20:20 ), Sky TV (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYs9IVgnPEg )
Commissioning update (probably to be covered by Graham instead)
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Commissioning update
Recent outputs
Report from 16-day trip to Rubin
Report from Rubin alerts and broker workshop: 14-15 January ?
LSST:UK in the news
The new year brought a spate of media interest in LSST:UK, with the UK’s involvement in Rubin highlighted on several major UK and global news outlets.
On 3 January 2025, Catherine Heymans, the Scottish Astronomer Royal, was interviewed on Today, BBC Radio 4’s flagship news programme, about her perspective on Rubin. You can listen to the interview https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002694s ; go to 1.43:20
Catherine subsequently appeared on Sky News and BBC Scotland to talk about Rubin and LSST:UK, while the Today interview was featured on the BBC World Service Global News Podcast (go to 20.10).
NSF DOE Vera C. Rubin naming convention
You may have noticed the use of the full name for Rubin – NSF DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory – in official communications. The moniker reflects the funders, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
When communicating about Rubin to an external audience, especially in text, please use the full name – NSF DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory – in the first instance. After this, you can revert to a briefer style, e.g. Rubin or the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
National Astronomy Week
National Astronomy Week (NAW) takes place on 1-9 February 2025. Drawing together the UK scientific, educational and astronomical communities, more than 250 events across the UK have been planned.
This year, the theme is Chasing the Moon, with telescope livestreams on the NAW YouTube channel, talks and stargazing events set to take place. A special show will screen at planetariums across the UK. Introduced by Catherine Heymans, the Scottish Astronomer Royal, the show will offer an immersive journey through the cosmos. Chris Lintott has also recorded a video to highlight some of the activities.
The event is supported by the Royal Astronomical Society, British Astronomical Association, Federation of Astronomical Societies, and Society for Popular Astronomy. Previous NAWs have marked the return of Halley’s Comet, the close approach of Mars in 2003 and the 400th anniversary of the invention of the telescope.
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Find out more about National Astronomy Week: astronomyweek.org.uk |
Forthcoming meetings of interest
Dates, locations and links… The current list of forthcoming meetings is always available on the Relevant Meetings page. You may also wish to check information held on the LSST organisation website LSST-organised events and the LSST Corporation website.
Dates | Meeting Title / Event | Meeting Website/ Contact | Meeting location / venue |
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21/Jul/25 - 25/Jul/25 | DESC Collaboration Meeting | https://lsstdesc.org/ (login required) | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign / Online |
28/Jul/25 - 01/Aug/25 | Rubin Community Workshop | TBC | Marriott University Park, Tucson, AZ |
15/SEP/25 - 19/SEP/25 | LSST@Europe7 | Poznan, Poland |
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Members of the Consortium (not in receipt of travel funding through one of the Science Centre grants) may apply for travel support for meetings of this kind via the LSST:UK Pool Travel Fund. Details are available at Forthcoming LSST-related Meetings |
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If you have significant news or announcements that are directly relevant to LSST:UK and would like to share them in a future newsletter, contact Eleanor O'Kane (email eokane@roe.ac.uk) |
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