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3. Rubin Observatory data products and publications

FAQ Field: 

What data products/releases will Rubin Observatory provide on a nightly/daily basis and on an annual timescale?

The Rubin Observatory nightly/daily data products will include (1) within 60 seconds of the end of exposure, alerts on sources that change by >= 5-sigma, and (2) after 24 hours, images and source catalogs from difference imaging and orbits of moving objects. The yearly data releases will include global, uniform processing of all the data taken from the start of the survey, yielding stacked, calibrated images, source catalogs, and light curves.

The data products for transients, variables, and moving objects will be primarily produced by the Prompt Processing pipelines, which will perform reduction, calibration, difference image analysis (DIA), source detection and measurement, and alert distribution within 60 seconds of image readout. Solar System Processing for moving objects will take place during the day. Images that result from Prompt Processing will be available after 80 hours, and are fully described in Section 3 of the DPDD. All DIA data products will be re-generated during the annual Data Release Processing. Source detection and measurement on direct images (i.e., non-difference images) will only be done during the annual Data Release Processing.

 

Rubin Observatory will also enable the generation of data products by the community to fulfill the requirements of specific science cases.

Read more about the planned data products.

Who has data rights/data access to Rubin observations?

All scientists and students affiliated with an institution in the US and Chile have data rights, as well as the international scientists and students whose names appear on the list of international data rights holders. For more information about data rights, please refer to the Rubin Observatory Data Policy, especially Section 4. "Defining Who Has Data Rights".

Will Rubin Observatory data eventually become world-public?

It is foreseen that Rubin Observatory data will become fully public after two years. The issue of how the public data can be accessed and how this access could be funded is still in the works.

What is the Rubin Observatory publication policy?

There is a Rubin Observatory Project publication policy for technical papers and data release papers by Rubin staff.

Each Rubin Observatory/LSST Science Collaboration may have its own publication policy for science papers. Authors should consult the how to cite guide to reference relevant technical/data release papers.

What is a Rubin Observatory Builder? Are there builders in Science Collaborations?

Rubin Observatory Builder Status is obtained when an individual has accumulated 2 full time equivalent years of direct effort in the design, development, fabrication, construction and/or commissioning of Rubin Observatory. The publication policy states that “All relevant Builders will automatically be invited to join the list of contributing authors of Rubin Observatory Project papers that depend on areas to which the Builder contributed.“

Each Science Collaboration is free to define a builder status consistent with its own publication policy. For instance, DESC defines in its publication policy what is a DESC Builder and specific rights for Rubin Observatory builders that are also DESC full members.

How can I petition for builder status?

If you are not listed in the Builder Status list and believe you have achieved builder status, you can petition for the status.

I have a Rubin Observatory paper to publish, is there a process I need to follow?

Rubin Observatory publication policy.

Can I keep Rubin Observatory data rights if I move institutions? Can I still publish LSST papers?

There is a grace period for junior researchers to maintain data rights and access, as described in DPOL-404 of the Rubin Data Policy.

What is Rubin Observatory doing to address the issue of satellite constellations?

Here's our statement addressing the issue of satellite constellations.

Financial support for Rubin Observatory comes from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Cooperative Agreement No. 1258333, the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science under Contract No. DE-AC02-76SF00515, and private funding raised by the LSST Corporation. The NSF-funded Rubin Observatory Project Office for construction was established as an operating center under management of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA).  The DOE-funded effort to build the Rubin Observatory LSST Camera (LSSTCam) is managed by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC).
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science. NSF supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.
NSF and DOE will continue to support Rubin Observatory in its Operations phase. They will also provide support for scientific research with LSST data.   




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