by InTrieste
Vera C. Rubin Observatory director Željko Ivezić will present the telescope’s first discoveries during a multilingual evening at Basovizza
TRIESTE, Italy — One of the world’s most ambitious astronomical projects will take center stage in Trieste next week, as the director of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Željko Ivezić, joins scientists from Italy and Slovenia for a public discussion on the observatory’s first scientific results.
The event, titled “Vera C. Rubin Observatory: The Largest Map of the Universe,” will take place on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. at the INAF Astronomical Observatory’s Basovizza observing station. Organized as part of the Estate a Basovizza 2026 series, the evening is free and open to the public.
Ivezić, who leads the Chile-based observatory, will present early findings from the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), a decade-long project designed to create the most detailed moving map of the southern sky ever assembled.
He will be joined by Gabriele Rodeghiero of the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), who oversaw the commissioning of the observatory’s secondary mirror, and Andreja Gomboc of the University of Nova Gorica, who coordinates LSST activities at the Slovenian institution. The discussion will be moderated by INAF astronomer Simone Zaggia.
A week of international astronomy
The public lecture coincides with the 5th LSST Regional Meeting, an international workshop taking place in Trieste from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 at the Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe (IFPU). Researchers from across Europe are gathering to discuss the challenges of processing the enormous volumes of data produced during the Rubin Observatory’s first year of observations and the scientific opportunities they present.
Reflecting the region’s cross-border scientific community, the Basovizza event will feature presentations in Italian, Slovenian and Croatian, with simultaneous interpretation available for attendees.
“I am happy to see such great interest in Trieste for the Rubin Observatory and its scientific projects,” Ivezić said in a statement. “It is especially meaningful to participate alongside Italian, Croatian and Slovenian colleagues while using the shared languages of this region.”
Building a time-lapse of the cosmos
Perched more than 2,600 meters above sea level on Cerro Pachón in the Chilean Andes, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is equipped with the largest digital camera ever built for astronomy — a 3.2-billion-pixel instrument paired with an 8.4-meter primary mirror.
Over the next ten years, the observatory will photograph the entire southern sky approximately every three nights, producing an unprecedented time-lapse record of the universe. Scientists hope the survey will help answer fundamental questions about dark matter and dark energy, detect potentially hazardous asteroids, and reveal how galaxies and stellar explosions evolve over cosmic time.
Enrico Giro, an INAF astronomer and member of the Rubin Observatory’s systems team, described the collaboration as both scientifically and personally transformative, adding that it has provided young doctoral researchers with a rare opportunity to contribute to one of astronomy’s defining international projects.
Stargazing after sunset
Following the presentations, visitors will be invited to join INAF astronomers for a guided naked-eye observation of the night sky outside the Margherita Hack Observatory in Basovizza.
Admission is free and no reservation is required. Seating will be available while spaces last, and organizers recommend bringing warm clothing or a blanket for those wishing to sit on the surrounding lawn. A food truck will also be on site serving refreshments throughout the evening.
