Vera C. Rubin Observatory reveals millions of galaxies, nebulas and more in 1st photos

Like cool pictures of the cosmos? You came to the right place.

A new ground-based telescope two decades in the making has finally released its first-ever images of the universe – and astronomers say they reveal cosmic phenomena like never before.

It's called the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, and even though it’s located in Chile, it's funded and operated by the U.S. government. In a public event on Monday, June 23, the astronomers who operate the powerful observatory released Rubin's debut images showcasing just exactly what the instrument can do.

The images were captured in just a little more than 10 hours of test observations as the Rubin Observatory prepares to begin a 10-year mission later in 2025 to map the universe.

“The Rubin Observatory is an investment in our future, which will lay down a cornerstone of knowledge today on which our children will proudly build tomorrow,” Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said in a statement.

Here's what to know about the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, as well as a look at the first images the ground-based telescope has captured of the cosmos from Chile.

What is the Vera C. Rubin Observatory?

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is perched on a mountain in northern Chile in the foothills of the Andes – a location astronomers say is both high and dry enough to provide clear skies for observing the universe.

The National Science Foundation jointly funds and operates the observatory with the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

Named for famed astronomer Vera Rubin, best known for discovering evidence of dark matter, the observatory will spend the next 10 years observing and collecting data on the southern night sky in our Milky Way and beyond.

The observatory’s main objective is creating its Legacy Survey of Space and Time, an ultrawide and ultra-high-definition movie of the universe made by scanning the entire sky every few nights. By taking thousands of images a day, the observatory will eventually create a time-lapse record serving as "the largest astronomical movie of all time," according to its website.

To achieve that goal, the observatory is equipped with a specially designed large telescope and a car-sized digital camera – the largest of its kind in the world. Each image taken by the camera covers an area on the sky as big as 45 full moons, according to astronomers.

Plenty of cosmic wonders are expected to be revealed by the telescope, including countless previously unseen asteroids, exploding supernova stars and millions of distant galaxies.

“Rubin Observatory will capture more information about our universe than all optical telescopes throughout history combined,” Brian Stone, National Science Foundation director, said in a statement. "Through this remarkable scientific facility, we will explore many cosmic mysteries, including the dark matter and dark energy that permeate the universe.”

'Cosmic treasure chest'

One of the first images released by the Rubin Observatory reveals a universe teeming with stars and galaxies.

In an image the observatory refers to as "the cosmic treasure chest," a southern region of the Virgo Cluster about 55 million light-years from Earth comes to life in our own Milky Way galaxy. Blue and red stars shine brightly, while nearby blue spiral galaxies and distant red galaxy groups can also be seen.

All told, the specks of light captured in the image showcase about 10 million galaxies, or just 0.05% of the roughly 20 billion galaxies Rubin will image in the next decade.

Trifid and Lagoon nebulas

Rubin also spent a little more than seven hours observing and composing a mosaic of a pair of nebulas in the Milky Way.

The star-forming regions that resemble clouds composed of dust and gas are located thousands of light-years away from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius.

At the top of the image is the Trifid nebula combining 678 exposures. The Trifid Nebula, also referred to as Messier 20, is a bright, colorful cloud of gas and dust about 5,000 light-years away.

Below it in the image is the Lagoon Nebula, or Messier 8 – another stellar nursery glowing about 4,000 light-years away.

Virgo cluster

The observatory also got a more detailed, closer look at the Virgo Cluster, a group of galaxies in the constellation of the same name.

Visible in one image are two prominent spiral galaxies and countless distant stars.

In another image, bright stars from our own Milky Way shine in the foreground, while a sea of distant reddish galaxies speckle the background.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the Paste BN Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com