Astronomy's newest telescope is a cosmic paparazzi that takes about 1,000 images of the southern sky each night from a mountaintop in Chile. Using giant mirrors that focus starlight into a 3,200-megapixel camera, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is expected to reveal billions of cosmic objects over the next decade and could solve some tantalizing mysteries — including whether there is a planet beyond Pluto. Sandrine Thomas, the deputy director of Rubin's construction, calls it a “discovery machine”; In a preview this summer, Rubin photographed more than 2,000 never-before-seen asteroids. The observatory is expected to begin full operations by the end of the year.
Vera C. Rubin Observatory: The best inventions of 2025
