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Rubin Observatory Releases Deep Space Image With Over Half a Million Galaxies

lite News Desk 2 min read

At a glance

  • The Rubin Observatory published a deep image of the COSMOS field
  • The image displays more than 500,000 galaxies and 50,000 stars
  • Early Data Preview 2 became available on July 27, 2026

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has made available a new deep co-added image of the COSMOS field, providing a detailed view of distant galaxies and stars. This release is part of the observatory’s ongoing efforts to deliver early scientific data to the research community.

The image was created by combining several observations from the LSST Camera, which is installed on the Simonyi Survey Telescope at the Rubin Observatory. The COSMOS field, located in the constellation Sextans, is the focus of this new data release.

Early Data Preview 2 (EDP2), which includes the new deep images and catalog products, was released on July 27, 2026. The data set covers observations collected between April 2025 and January 2026, and is now accessible through the Rubin Science Platform.

The LSST Camera, which was used to capture the observations, is a 3.2-gigapixel digital camera and is currently the largest of its kind. This equipment enables the observatory to collect high-resolution images across wide areas of the sky.

What the numbers show

  • Over 500,000 galaxies are visible in the new COSMOS field image
  • More than 50,000 stars are included in the data set
  • EDP2 covers observations from April 2025 to January 2026

The COSMOS field image was produced by combining multiple exposures from the LSST Camera, resulting in a deep co-add that reveals faint and distant objects. This technique allows astronomers to detect and catalog a large number of celestial bodies in a single field of view.

The Rubin Science Platform now hosts the EDP2 data, which includes both images and catalog measurements. Researchers can access these resources to conduct further analysis and studies of the observed regions.

Looking ahead, the Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time is expected to catalog approximately 20 billion galaxies over a ten-year period. The observatory continues to expand its data offerings as part of its mission to support astronomical research.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.

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