How the Rubin Observatory will help us understand dark matter and dark energy
1 min read
Summary
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, formerly named the LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope), one of 10 selected breakthrough technologies for 2025, will analyse the cosmos with the largest digital camera ever created.
-Rubin will investigate dark matter, the unseen mass thought to bind galaxies together, and dark energy, which is thought to be responsible for the universe’s inflation, via gravitational lensing.
This observational technique, used since the 1970s, provides a map of dark matter by examining the way light is bent by objects along its path.
Rubin’s Large Synoptic Survey Telescope is designed to survey the sky in more detail than any current or previous observatory, with 3.2 billion pixels spread across its focal plane.
By examining the battle between dark matter and dark energy, Rubin may be able to narrow down existing theories on what they are composed of and their true nature.