This month we don’t have a pretty picture from Cerro Pachon, but, rather, a plot from the Community Forum post by Bob Blum that I trailed in the Introduction to the April newsletter. As detailed in the caption, this shows that Rubin are making steady progress in bringing the instrumental contribution to the delivered image quality within spec, but they have still not reached the point where they can announce the start of the 10-year LSST. Bob's post also notes that Rubin “expect the median PSF ellipticity to decrease as the active optics correction of the primary and secondary mirrors improves during Year 1”, since data taken in a variety of conditions and configurations will be needed to derive the full set of corrections required, and that data can be taken in the early months of the LSST itself, rather than delaying the start of the survey further.

Also shown to the right are Garreth Martin and Jamie Robinson, the first two UK-funded members of the Rubin Community Science Team. We fund two half-time secondments to the CST as one of our in-kind contributions to Rubin operations to earn data rights, but with the expectation that the expertise in Rubin data and tools that the holders of these posts will develop will be of specific and direct benefit to the UK community; those who attended the All Hands Meeting in Manchester saw Garreth and Jamie make their debut in this role, helping James Mullaney present a tour of the Rubin Science Platform.

Some funding remains in the budget that we set aside to support attendance of the All Hands Meeting, so we encourage retrospective applications through the Pool Travel Fund by 30 June from anyone who had to struggle to fund their attendance by other means. Similarly, we have not awarded all the funds we budgeted for support of UK attendance of the Rubin Community Workshop and LSST@Europe8 so, again, we welcome further Pool Travel Fund applications related to those meetings by 30 June.

This month also sees the next stage-one application deadline for the LINCC Frameworks Incubators programme, which supports “teams of researchers to test, apply, or expand early-stage analysis software being developed as a part of LINCC Frameworks”; past award recipients include UK researchers, and with Data Preview 2 on the horizon, now is a good time to consider whether your own science plans could be enhanced through software developed by this route. Stage One proposals are very brief – 1-2 pages of scientific goals, plus a description of the data to be used and the likely technical challenges – and the deadline for their submission is 15 June.

A new article in Quanta Magazine features @Stephen Smartt and @Matt Nicholl among a host of scientists talking about the impact of the early data that has already flowed from Rubin.

The feature outlines early discoveries, such as the fast-rotating comet 2025 MN45, and posits areas in which scientists hope Rubin could shed new light – from the Hubble tension to interstellar comets. In the piece, Stephen Smartt talks about how the Lasair data broker is helping scientists make sense of the data; he also looks ahead to the opportunity to collect and study data on Type Ia supernovae in detail.

Quanta Magazine is an independent online publication that aims to enhance public understanding of science.

Congratulations to Alan Heavens (pictured right) for winning this season’s LSST:UK Fantasy Premier League. Alan’s performance mirrored that of fellow Londoners Arsenal, sustaining a consistent level of performance through the season that none could match, with Behnood Bandi fulfilling the Manchester City role of spirited runner up. My own Athletico Bob team just managed to hold off Terry Sloan’s MBurgh Toun for third place, and there were similarly close battles all the way down the league, featuring Chis Frohmaier, William Lucas, Eleanor O’Kane, Andres Ponte, Eduardo Toledo Romero and Phil Wiseman.

Thanks to all who competed, and I hope that others will consider joining in for the 2026/27 season: we tend to start our league a few weeks after the season starts, so look out for further Newsletter items in the late summer - and please think whether there are similar social activities that we can run through the Consortium.

The founding director of Rubin Observatory said: “I’m deeply honored to be included in the TIME100. This recognition reflects the extraordinary work of the many scientists, engineers, and partners behind Rubin Observatory. Together, we are building a new way of seeing the Universe — one that will open discovery to the global community and inspire the next generation.”

Bob Blum, Director of Operations for Rubin Observatory praised his colleague: “Tony Tyson’s vision has helped redefine how we explore the Universe," he said. "His work exemplifies the power of innovation and collaboration in pushing the boundaries of discovery.”

In the Spotlight

Share your passion

Useful resources

This month, we’re putting @Timothy Noble in the spotlight. Read the interview to find out how Timothy went from studying bone marrow stem cells to RAL where he creates software solutions for LSST scientists.

We’re looking for more people to take part in our In the Spotlight series. It’s a chance to tell us about your work and how you arrived at LSST:UK. To take part, get in touch or fill in the webform (link below).

A reminder that you can access communications training videos, key messages and other communications resources for your LSST:UK presentations on the dedicated wiki page.

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@Eleanor O'Kane