Vera C. Rubin Observatory
The universe is expanding, and that expansion is accelerating. Scientists think that something called dark energy is causing the acceleration. Calculations seem to show that dark energy makes up more than two-thirds of the total energy and mass in the universe, but we don’t know what dark energy really is. Soon, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, also known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), will be able to map around half the sky every few nights—effectively creating a movie of the visible cosmos, which will help researchers understand dark energy’s impact on the ultimate fate of the universe. The telescope is scheduled to begin its science operations in 2023.
