Prof. James Davenport

This Spring at DiRAC we are watching something amazing blossom – and I don’t just mean the iconic Cherry Blossoms at the University of Washington, which were in peak bloom at the end of March this year! At the end of February, after nearly 20 years of development, the Rubin Observatory began its first phase of science. Real-time “Alerts” are now flowing from the Simonyi Survey Telescope in Chile, and being broadcast to astronomers around the world. It was a powerful and joyous moment, watching Prof. Eric Bellm and Dr. Ian Sullivan, showcase the very first alerts to the entire Rubin/LSST team.

Our goal now is to discover the surprises that will bloom from this new data. Last week DiRAC wrapped up Winter Quarter with a “First Alert Sprint”, where astronomers of all experience levels from the UW Astronomy Department came together to explore the millions of Alerts already released. In one day we discovered new pulsating stars in the far reaches of our Galaxy, looked at some “nearby” supernovae (only 900 million light years away!), and recovered comets whose tails had pushed them away from their “expected” positions,

On a personal level, I’m extremely proud of soon-to-be PhD, Andy Tzanidakis, whose recent discovery and analysis of “Gaia-GIC-1” has been getting some well deserved attention. Found using Gaia data, this is one of the very few planetary giant impact candidates ever observed… and based on its position in the sky it should be a perfect test case for Rubin! In the 10-year LSST survey, we might discover hundreds of such systems, helping determine how common Moon-forming impacts are. Well done Andy!

And that’s just one of the many new excellent studies we’ve highlighted in this Quarter’s Newsletter and on our website. As always, be sure to check back regularly for updates from our team… I can’t wait to see what other surprises are waiting to bloom this coming Spring!

Keep looking up!

James Davenport

Director, DiRAC Institute