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The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science will support Rubin Observatory in its operations phase to carry out the Legacy Survey of Space and Time. They will also provide support for scientific research with the data. During operations, NSF funding is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with NSF, and DOE funding is managed by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), under contract by DOE. Rubin Observatory is operated by NSF NOIRLab and SLAC.

NSF is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science. NSF supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.

The DOE Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

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    1. For Scientists
    2. Survey, instruments, and telescopes
    3. Instruments

    Instruments

    High-level overviews of the LSST Camera (LSSTCam), the Commissioning Camera (LSSTComCam), and the LSST Atmospheric Transmission Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (LATISS) are provided on this page.

    Technical details and diagrams can be found in the Camera Tech Notes.

    Go to a list of all Camera Tech Notes.

    LSST Camera (LSSTCam)

    The LSST Camera is the world's largest digital camera. It has 3.2 Gigapixels over a 9.6 square degree field of view and six optical filters.

    LSSTCam is the only instrument used for the LSST, and its processed data products will be available for scientists to analyze.

    See also the camera webpage for a public audience.

    Go to the LSSTCam Technical Documentation

    LSST Commissioning Camera (LSSTComCam)

    LSSTComCam was mounted on the Simonyi Survey Telescope for seven weeks in late 2024. It is a smaller, fully functional version of LSSTCam, with only the central raft of 9 CCDs (all ITL sensors). LSSTComCam was designed to enable end-to-end testing of the observatory’s systems, including data acquisition, image processing, and observatory operations.

    LSSTComCam data products are included in the data releases for the Early Science Program.

    Go to the LSSTComCam technical documentation.

    LSST Atmospheric Transmission Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (LATISS)

    LATISS is installed on the Auxiliary Telescope, a 1.2-meter telescope dedicated to atmospheric characterization at the Rubin Observatory site. It is designed to measure atmospheric transmission and calibrate LSST observations by taking spectra of standard stars.

    LATISS data is used by Rubin staff in the processing and calibration of the LSST data products released for scientific analysis.


    Go to the LATISS technical documentation.

    Questions?

    Rubin Community Forum

    Ask questions, get help, report bugs or errors, and join in discussions about Rubin Observatory and its data products, pipelines, and services.

    Go to the Rubin Community Forum
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