Croatian scientist leading world's largest astronomy survey as Rubin Observatory begins 10-year mission

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has begun the world's largest astronomical imaging survey after more than two decades of development, launching the 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), led by Croatian scientist Željko Ivezić. Since 2021, academician Ivezić has been Director of Construction at the observatory, having previously served as Deputy Director and Project Scientist.

Located on Cerro Pachón in northern Chile, the observatory will image the entire southern sky every few nights over the next decade, producing the most comprehensive and detailed survey of the universe ever undertaken, the University of Rijeka's Faculty of Physics said. The project is expected to generate the largest astronomical database ever assembled, with information on around 40 billion celestial objects, made available to scientists worldwide and to the public.

Ivezić, an adjunct professor at the University of Rijeka's Faculty of Physics and a corresponding member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU), said the survey began only after extensive system optimisation, technical testing, data-processing verification and scientific validation.

Croatian astrophysicists are also involved through research groups at the University of Rijeka, the Ruđer Bošković Institute, the University of Zagreb and the Hvar Observatory. The "Bura" supercomputer at the University of Rijeka's Centre for Advanced Computing and Modelling is one of 13 international computing centres in the project, dedicated exclusively to data analysis.